Feral
by redbullcatwoman
Summary: Two backwoods rednecks, lifelong friends, are thrown into a world of survival, friendships, heartbreaks and...love? Both will need to overcome their tough exteriors that have held them back from the rest of the "civilized world". But just maybe, they'll find that they aren't all alone in this god-forsaken life. Daryl/OC. eventual lemons
1. Prelude

**Prelude**

Amanda

In the dim light I stared down at my hands as the still warm blood dripped from them. Warm. Not the cold gelatinous sludge I was used to dealing with from the walkers. How long had it been since I had killed one of the living?

_"Too long._" I thought, staring down at the man as the life drained out of his eyes. The thought came guiltlessly as I remembered the screams of the other women after they were dragged from the cell. I knew their plans for me were much worse then what I had just inflicted upon the man bleeding out on the floor in front of me. He had made a mistake, believing he could handle me by himself, being that i was the lone woman left in the dismal excuse of a room. My ego flared and I recounted, how upon hearing his footsteps, I had hidden behind the door. When he had entered and closed the door behind him, I had launched myself at his beefy frame. He matched me in height, but I was quicker, and adrenaline and anger mixed together and ran like fire through my veins. He had been blindsided as I wrapped my hand around the front of his throat, and dug my nails into the artery pulsing in his thick neck. Feeling his blood brought out the animal in me and before I could stop myself, I had delved farther into his throat with a sick smile, and grabbed hold of his blood-coated esophagus and tore it out with a yell.

My predatory yell mixed with his scream of anguish had caught the attention of the others outside of the cell. Their footsteps quickly approached, and before I had time to move, the cell door was thrown open and light blinded me. The group of men stared dumbfounded as I stood over their man, bathed in his blood. My chest heaved, ready to attack again, and I counted six silhouettes of men, instead of five.

_"There's a new one." _The thought ran through my head quickly, but just as quickly disappeared as my eyes adjusted to the light. I found myself staring into the familiar and striking blue eyes of the new man. Hope flared in my chest as I stared into the eyes of Daryl Dixon.

Daryl

Her once strong and muscular frame now looked thin and weak. But he knew better. Though covered in filth, bruises and blood, her eyes were alert and wild as they stared back into his. God, how he had missed those eyes, deep blue around the edges that grew to a light green mix around the center. And even in her state all her wanted to do was crush her against him. He wanted to take her far away from here. And he would. However, he knew they would have to fight their way out. The hope he had held onto for months of her being alive turned to anger as he took a swing at the back of Joe's head.


	2. chapter 1

**A/N: sorry guys, I'm still new at this, gonna take me a little bit to get used to this, just bear with me :)  
**

Amanda

The cab of the truck was stuffy as I sat with a duffel bag full of my meager belongings on my lap. Merle had insisted that I hold it so it wouldn't jeopardize a scratch to his beloved bike, which was held down by ropes in the bed of the truck. Sweat dripped down the back of my neck as I tried to reposition myself between the Dixon brothers. However I didn't complain because the two of them wouldn't let me live down being such a _girl. _Instead, I settled for rolling the hem of my shirt up so at least the light breeze coming through the window could cool off my midriff if nothing else. To my right, Daryl stiffened and from the corner of my eye you saw him quickly admire and look away. I slightly smirked but said nothing. Merle however, wasn't so shy and let out a low whistle.

"Damn kid, when did you grow into a woman?" he leered at my toned stomach and slightly revealed cleavage.

"Same time you turned into an asshole, Merle." I snipped at him, earning a chuckle from Daryl.

I was used to Merle's incessant remarks towards women. Growing up in the house next to the Dixons for years had accustomed me to his crudeness. The two men sitting beside me were the closest I had to family or friends, and as rough as they got, from short tempers to moonshine-drunken nights, they were my tethers to sanity.

I reminisce the first time I met the Dixons. I had been 10 years old.

_The sun had just set as I stumbled out of my fathers' house. I hadn't set his TV dinner and beer out for when he arrived home tonight, something I knew better than to do. His already drunken rage was just waiting for an excuse to be set free and that was it. Now I sat on the old lawn chair on the small cement porch, staring at the star-riddled Georgia sky through my one unswollen eye and listened through the screen door to my father snoring as The Price Is Right played on the old TV. A twig snapping to the right of the house startled me, jumping quickly to my feet, I yelled "Who's there?!" A boy about four years older than me peered around the corner, looking apprehensive. The first thing I noticed was his bright blue eyes, holding mine, they caused a strange sense of calm. _

_"You ok?" He asked quietly. _

_I dropped my gaze to the concrete and mumbled "I'm fine." I looked back up to his concerned and unwavering stare, and noticed he was sporting a deep purple bruise of his own along his jaw._

_ "Are you?" I questioned, trying to take the attention off of myself. _

_"Fine" he said quickly before adding "Come with me" and abruptly walking off to the neighboring house. _

_"Oh, what the hell" I whispered to myself before running off after him._

_Sitting on the porch of the neighbors house was a boy a few years older than the one walking in front of me. As I got closer I could see the concern in his eyes as well. _

_"Heard a ruckus, sent Daryl here over to see what it was" he drawled in his southern accent. _

_Once again my eyes found the dirt and I mumbled " S'nothing I can't handle". I looked up and caught a brief glance exchanged between the two. _

_That night had been the first of many to follow. The three of us were stuck together like white on rice after that, Daryl and Merle became a family to me that I had never imagined I could have. It wasn't until a few years later and Merle took off however, that I really started to get to know Daryl. He was a different person without Merle constantly putting him down. He joked, laughed, had full heartfelt conversations, hid with me in the woods if either of our fathers came home drunk and angry, as well as hold an icepack to my face whenever I wasn't fortunate enough to get out of the house. It took a few years to catch on but I was slowly began to recognize the heavy tension between the two of us. While he was trying to teach me to hunt, I would admire him from my perch in the tree. His taught muscles and intense eyes were just part of the magnetic pull I felt for him, there was something more between the two of us. No doubt, he was feeling it too. Every so often I would catch him looking at me, just staring, only to look away quickly when he was caught. He made sure to put plenty of space between the two of us at all times. I had taken the hint, neither of us wanting to say the words that could possibly lead to a break in the most important relationship in our lives… 20 years later and everything was still the same…_

"Come the fuck on!" yelled Merle, honking the horn and shocking me back to the present. The traffic we were stuck in had come to a stand still and tempers were starting to raise as the hot Georgia sun beat down.

"Daryl, lemme get out real quick. I can't stand the heat _and_ loud-ass over here yellin' in my ear" I said. Merle threw me a look as Daryl opened the door and got out himself, allowing me to get out and stretch my tense muscles.

"Looks like we ain't gonna make it to the huntin' grounds anytime soon" Daryl grumbled as he leaned against the truck, lighting two Marlboro's and handing me one. Graciously, I took it and inhaled the carcinogens. I knew he was perfectly content hunting in the woods around the house, he had only agreed to come because it was what I had wanted to do. I exhaled and watching the small smoke cloud float away, my eyes landed on a woman with dark hair sitting in the car next to us, supporting her head in one hand while the man and young boy with her talked to each other.

"I'm gonna go ask them what's going on" I said to Daryl. Ignoring the grunt he gave me as reply, I walked over to the car. I had always been better at talking to people than he was. As I leaned down to knock on the window of the car, the woman jumped and rolled it down. Taking in my appearance, then looking behind me to the glaring Daryl, she looked back to me, waiting for me to talk.

"Any idea what's going on?" I asked bluntly, not liking the judging look I was getting from the man in the car. People always gave me that look, the one that said, "_what the hell does this redneck chick want?"_

"We're headed to the FEMA camp being set up in Atlanta" said the woman, giving my cigarette a pointed look as smoke drifted through her open window. I held it away from the car, not used to being around people that didn't smoke.

"FEMA?" I paused to take a drag, then blew it out. "why are they setting up an emergency management place in the city?"

"Dunno. All I've heard is that people are getting real sick, real fast" she said gazing off up the road, seeming distracted.

"Oh, ok." I said, "I'm Amanda, by the way" holding out my hand to shake hers.

"Lori." She said, briefly shaking my hand "and this is Shane and my son Carl" she gestured to the two others in the car.

Just then, the old Winnebago a few cars over gave a groan and smoke poured out of the front. Not knowing what else to do, I went back to stand by Daryl. Shane got out of Lori's car to go help the old man in the bucket hat who had gotten out of the motorhome to check the damage, along with a few other men in the cars that had been surrounding ours.

"They're setting up a FEMA camp down in Atlanta" I said as I leaned back onto the truck. Another grunt came from Daryl as he glared at Shane. Looking over at the group of men now looking under the hood "what's got yer panties in a bunch?" I asked Daryl quietly, so as not to let Merle onto the fact that something was bothering Daryl, he would just make fun of him for being sensitive.

"He was starin' at yer tits the whole damn time the two of you were talkin'" he spat on the ground and continued to glare. He had always been protective of me when it came to other men. Sometimes I wondered if he just didn't like other men, or if there was another reason for his guard dog demeanor. Those looks were common too, I admitted to myself. Although I didn't flaunt it very much, I had a pretty nice body, and a large set of breasts. My physique probably came from all the time Daryl and I had spent in the woods hunting, climbing and swimming.

I looked over again at the group of men as they appeared to fix the problem and close the hood of the Winnebago. Things seemed pretty calm, regardless of the threatening way Daryl stared at Shane as he crossed over the road to head to the tree line.

All of a sudden a low rumble started as two fighter jets flew overhead, headed toward the city. A few moments after they flew out of sight, Shane came barreling out of the trees yelling about the city being bombed. My body tensed immediately and I looked around wildly to Daryl. The road erupted into chaos as cars started trying to get out of the gridlock. Daryl firmly grabbed my shoulders to push me into the truck back next to Merle.

"Let's get the fuck out of here!" he yelled to Merle over the noise of the panicking motorist around us. Merle threw the truck into drive and drove off the shoulder of the road into the grass. Looking behind us, I watched as several cars followed our truck off the road, including the motorhome and the car carrying Lori, Carl, and Shane. Looking over, I saw Daryl watching me with a look of concern mixed with ferocity, this time he didn't look away. He was going to protect me, no matter what. Always had, always would.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: This is so much fun for me, I've been thinking about this chapter all day at work, rethinking everything so as not to forget anything. please review and follow! tell me what you like and dont like! every review is appreciated!  
**

* * *

Daryl

As Daryl sat on the open tailgate of his brothers blue pick-up truck, smoking his last cigarette, pride bubbled in his chest and he looked down at the sleeping woman he called his best friend. While she used his leg as a temporary pillow, he watched her sleep. Letting out a low chuckle when she twitched, he sat back, taking a long drag of the cigarette and thought about the that mornings' events…

* * *

In the few weeks they had been set up at their camp, Shane had appointed himself leader of the small group, which meant he had starting assigning everybody jobs to do around the small quarry they had made their temporary home. Daryl had been planning to do some hunting that morning, but the plan was quickly thwarted as he was assigned to watch duty. When Shane came around to assigning Amanda's chore of the day –laundry- Daryl saw a familiar spark in her eye. Knowing that look, he started to stride over to stand beside her as she began to argue with Shane…

"And you're a sexist asshole!" she was yelling at him. Their voices were already starting to rise by the time Daryl got close enough. He took a second to admire her stance, strong and determined, also the fact that she didn't back down when Shane stepped closer to her. He had a good foot in height on her and she glared up at him, seething. Still Daryl watched tensely, knowing that an attempt to break it up would piss her off even more. He knew all too well that she could handle herself in an argument.

"At least let me go hunt, since yer sendin' the best hunter in the damn group to sit and take watch!" her eyes shifted to Daryl, where he stood feet away, rigid and ready to intervene if Shane dared to lay a finger on her, then looked back at the large man in front of her. The yelling that was bouncing off of the walls of the quarry had drawn most of the members of the group to stand in a semi-circle watching the two, but not intervening. Some looked shocked, frightened or worried for Amanda, while others seemed to want her to go on. No doubt she wasn't the only one who was having issues  
being told what to do by Shane.

"Let you hunt?!" Shane laughed, and turned to lean against the large oak tree they stood under, "I'll wait until someone who can actually shoot is free to hunt!" he scoffed.

"_Bad idea, Shane._" Daryl thought quickly, watching Amanda's face turn red with anger. Without batting an eyelash, and before anyone knew what she was doing, Amanda grabbed Daryl's beloved crossbow out of his hands, and didn't hesitate to fire a bolt at Shane.

"_Shit_." Daryl tensed, cursing her for her quick temper, and a gasp ran through the group, as Shane stared, mouth agape, at Amanda. The bolt she had fired was mere millimeters away from his head, embedded into the thick tree bark, precisely where she had aimed. At the very edge of his ear Daryl saw a drop of blood forming. She quietly walked up to Shane and pulled the bolt from the bark.

"I'll take that." She glowered at him. She turned back around to walk to Daryl, and he took the gun she was offering him from her hip, not wanting to leave him unarmed. But she needed the crossbow to hunt, having left her own at home. Her face was stoic, but as she turned to march off to the woods he caught the small wink and smug smile she gave him. He shook his head and watched as she proudly walked off into the tree line, crossbow slung across her toned back, and he couldn't help but look back at the stunned and silent group with a smile, before strutting away to take his watch on top of the Winnebago.

Hours passed and the sun started to set before Daryl caught glimpse of her slender frame coming through the trees. Letting out a small sigh of relief he hadn't realized he was holding, he trotted off to meet her. She was dirty and straining to carry the heavy bag of squirrels, rabbits and one woodchuck, but her eyes were alive and shone with a light that brightened when she saw him advancing toward her. When he reached her, she was pulled into an unexpected hug in his muscular arms. As he held her tight, he felt the familiar electric that he showed itself whenever they came into close contact. He pulled away and looked to the ground, trying to recover himself, before taking the bag from her shoulder. He raised his eyebrows at the impressive weight to it.

Unfaltered by his pause, -being quite used to it by now- she looked at him expectantly. "Any more action since I left?" she inquired.

"Other than everyone now bein' terrified of yer accuracy and a pissed of police officer, all quiet." He laughed. This was just another one of the great things about her, she made it feel okay to joke, and laugh. It was the most uplifting feeling in the world to know that even on the shittiest of days, he could crack a smile around her.

"How 'bout you? Any trouble?" When she furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the ground, he stopped walking, grabbed her elbow, and pulled her to face him. She looked up at him with trouble brewing behind her beautiful eyes.

"Yea actually" she paused, pulling something out from behind her back.

As she untied what appeared to be a human fore-arm from her belt, Daryl's eyes widened. The hunting knife he had given her for her birthday a few years ago was plunged into the wrist.

"The fuck is that?!" he exclaimed, gingerly taking it from her and observing it. The skin of the thin arm was a dirty and a mottled gray, and as he turned it to see the other side he noticed the skin itself seemed to be disintegrating. The fingers were just bones, void of any meat or flesh, and it smelled like it had been decomposing for weeks, instead of recently having been cut off of its body. He looked up from the arm, taking in the expression in her eyes as they stared at the arm. She seemed to be chewing over her explanation.

"Amanda, what happened?" he said firmly, while guiding her face to look at his by lifting her chin with one of his fingers.

"This is why they bombed Atlanta." She said quietly, eyes holding his. This still left him with plenty of questions. With a sigh, she started to explain what had happened in the woods.

That afternoon as she had perched on the low branch of a tree -her small frame had always made it easier for her to shoot from trees- crossbow trained on an injured rabbit, a group of five men had ambled into her view. Sitting quietly, she waited and watched as they caught sight of the rabbit and limped over to it. Some dragging obviously broken limbs as they walked, other walking as if they were drugged. Sitting in the tree she watched the scene below unfold as the injured rabbit was over taken in seconds, ripped to shreds, and eaten raw on the spot. When she had jumped down and yelled that that had been her rabbit, all five turned and began lumbering towards her, forcing her to start backing away. But they were slow, and she managed to get back into the tree. As she was climbing up, a hand had grabbed hold of her ankle. She looked back in time to see the man with a hand around her ankle lunge for her Achilles heel, jaws wide, as if to bite her. Yanking her foot away just in time she scurried up the tree, expecting them to follow. But they just stood at the base of the tree, clawing up at her, as if they could have reached her. After firing bolts into a few extremities of them without any reaction, she did the last thing she could think of, firing a bolt directly into the head of the tallest one. He fell to the ground and didn't get back up, but the others gave no notice and hungrily looked up at her, moaning and gurgling. She had followed suit with the other four and climbed down, dismembering an arm with her knife to bring back as evidence of her experience. Daryl stood dumbfounded as she told him what happened.

"How's that possible?" he asked himself more than her. She stood quietly, next to him once she had finished retelling her experience. She looked at the arm Daryl was turning over and over again in his large hands, but she said nothing to answer his question.

"I dunno…" she mumbled, "come on, I need a nap 'fore we skin all this meat." And with that they walked off to the truck in silence.

* * *

Looking down at her now, he resisted the urge to gently place the stray hair that had fallen across her cheek back behind her ear. Instead he just stared at the beautiful profile he loved to admire. Being so close to her so much the past few days was torturing him. Before, they had kept their space, it was easier to brush off the thoughts of her that crept into his mind, but now, with a threat around every corner, he wanted to always have her close, always know that she was okay. She was strong, a fighter, seemingly natural in her tough demeanor. But he had seen the softer sides of her many times, and it terrified him. There was so much good in her that had helped him through so much in the past 20 years, he wouldn't  
lose one of the two most important people in his life if he had any choice in the matter.

As if he had heard his thoughts, Merle sauntered around the truck and clapped his hand on Daryl's shoulder, and looked down at Amanda's head resting on his knee, and yelled.

"Knew you had it in ya, baby brother!" earning a scowl from Daryl as his face reddened, while Amanda woke up with a jump, hand reaching for her knife while wildly searching for whatever had woken her. Her alert, blue eyes landed on Merle laughing and with a quick "fuck you, Merle" she stood up, stretching. Daryl joined in Merle's laughter when he looked down to see the puddle of drool she had left on his pant leg. Hoisting the bag full of animal carcass' over her shoulder, she walked towards the fire pit set in the middle of the tents in the distance, holding her middle finger up to them behind her.

"Come on ya asshole" Daryl said to Merle as he slid off the truck bed and started following her.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: This is the part where I'll start recounting the story as told by the show. I love it because it's giving me a reason to rewatch the episodes from episode 1. :) as always, please review, tell me what you like or don't like, every review is appreciated! :)**

* * *

Amanda

Sitting in the shade of a make shift lean-to, I worked on skinning the three squirrels from this mornings' hunt.

"Gonna hav'ta go deeper in the woods here soon," I stated. Daryl grunted in reply from his place next to me, where he was cleaning the fur and dried blood off of his bolts. "runnin' outta small game"

"Been thinkin' the same m'self" he grumbled, placing the bolt back in its holster and gazing out at the forest. "I think we should head out tomorra'."

"Sounds good to me, I need some peace and quiet" I said, looking over towards the Winnebago. The past few weeks had been…frustrating, to say the least. Even though some of the members of the group were starting to grow on me, they were loud, and talked a lot. I had been fighting a constant headache for days because of it. The reclusive hum of the forest was tempting me more every passing day.

I smirked as I watched Merle strut his way over to Andrea, one of the blonde sisters. She was cocky, and she seemed to annoy some others around the camp, however, my own cocky mind saw her for who she was. She was a strong woman who was trying to prove she could pull her own weight.

"_Can't shoot for shit, though_" I noted. Target practice had been a joke, as the inexperienced group members gave shooting a try, and failed miserably. While the targets Shane, Daryl, Merle and I had shot at had clean bullet holes through each center.

Chuckling as Merle's crude advances got shot down once again, I turned back to the dead squirrel in my hand, and got back to skinning it. After a few minutes, Merle's heavy boots walked into my line of vision and stopped.

"Chinese kid is headin' out on another run, soma' the others volunteered to go along this time, thought I'd join 'em, stretch my legs a bit ya know?" he drawled, and I didn't miss the leer towards Andrea.

"She ain't gonna say yes, whether she's in the camp or not Merle." Daryl said, also catching Merle's glance toward the blonde. Not bothering to repress a snort, I stood up and stretched.

"Never know, times are gettin' desperate, and who else to turn to but good ole Merle" he boasted, never one to let a few 'no's' or 'fuck you's' get in his way.

"Whatever, Merle. I'm heading down to take a swim in the quarry," I turned to Daryl, "wanna join?"

"Nah, I'm good. I got next watch" he said. I shrugged and started my trek down to the quarry, feeling his blue eyes on my back until I was around the bend.

* * *

The next morning, while the sky was still dark, Daryl shook me awake, and the two of us quietly got our gear and began to head out, letting T-Dog -the dark skinned man currently on watch- know where we were headed.

"No more squirrel," he pleaded, "I don't know how y'all live on that shit."

The sky was just starting to turn a light shade of blue by the time we had hiked a mile into the woods. Jumping over a fallen tree, I took in the forest around me. Dew still dripped off of the leaves, and a creek ran by somewhere in the distance. The quite babbling reached my ears and calmed my frayed nerves. Ahead of me, Daryl kept a wary eye, but looked just as at ease as I felt. He hadn't been so eager to make friends at camp. When he wasn't getting hateful looks for his angry outbursts, he usually sat in the background, keeping the group in sight, as I traded stories with Andrea and Amy, or Dale, owner of the motorhome, or Glenn, the young Asain man. Or he hung back with Merle, mumbling quiet agreements every once in a while as Merle droned on about the sorry sight of different races mixing. Daryl and I weren't racist like Merle, but it was useless to argue with him on a topic he was so adamant about.

My eyes now wandered over his lean frame, appreciating his large biceps and broad shoulders while his back was to me. The attraction between us was palpable lately, but every time a tense moment passed between us, he would quickly stand up and walk away, making excuses like having to take a piss, or checking the snares he had set up.

"_It's for the better_" I mused, There was no one more important to me, than the man who stood in front of me right now. The very thought of something going wrong and the easy peace between us becoming awkward absolutely terrified me. Not to mention neither of us had a very good history with relationships. I had a pathetic track record of losers, junkies and assholes, while Daryl was only ever ballsy enough to take a woman home from the bar when he was plastered.

Shaking the thought out of my head, I scanned the ground for tracks, and we walked on, silent and gracefully tracking through the dense foliage.

Throughout the day, neither of us had had much luck finding any tracks. As night began to fall we found a small clearing, and set up camp as Daryl strung a rope around the small area. From it hung empty cans and anything that would make noise if someone were to walk into it in the dark. I stoked the small fire as Daryl pulled two cans of tuna out of his pack, opening them with his hunting knife. Taking the can, I stared into the fire, pondering why no animals had been seen all day. Immersed in my thoughts, I jumped slightly when Daryl began to speak.

"Merle wants to rob the camp and split," he murmured, also staring into the low flames as they licked the logs, "he doesn't think these people are gonna last. Can't really blame him for thinkin' so." His eyes found mine and held them. "he wants the three of us to head out and leave 'em."

Taking a minute to chew over both my tuna and my reply, I hesitantly started to answer "I don't really think these people are fit to survive either…" I swallowed, "but, I don't think it's the best idea Daryl…" I held up a finger as he opened his mouth to protest, "Hear me out. They're lousy shots, yea, they're loud and most of the time damn annoying. Complainin' 'bout missing their washin' machines, or coffee makers, or vibrators," he snorted, and I cracked a smile before continuing, "but there's a lot of them. A lot of people means more food, better protection, better chance of them getting bit rather than us. Plus, if you actually took the chance to get to know some of them, you'd find that they're kinda nice."

"I ain't interested in getting' to know a buncha walker bait" he quipped.

"Whatever," I shot back, "ya' know I'll follow you anywhere." And with that, his face reddened and he stood up, mumbling about taking watch and me getting some sleep. Knowing the conversation was over, I headed into the tent, laying down and quickly falling asleep.

After I woke up and exited the tent the next morning, we packed up and began to head back to the campsite at the quarry. Thankfully, Daryl found a lone set of deer tracks and we followed it almost all the way back to the tree line that flanked the camp. After taking out the doe with a few quickly fired bolts, he suggested heading back into the forest in a last ditch effort to find more wildlife.

After finding two squirrels, and returning, leaving the deer for the extra hour proved to be the wrong choice. For when we came back to the carcass, intending to carry it back to the camp, we were met instead by a gun barrel aimed at our faces by Shane, a circle of men surrounding the now-chewed-on deer, and a walker, dead on the ground next to it.

"Son of a bitch!" yelled Daryl, seeing the ruined deer after Shane lowered the gun, assured that we weren't walkers, "That's our deer! We tracked that thing for hours!" His idea to cut around the chewed bits was shot down and he aimed a few good kicks at the walkers limp body, a slew of curses flying from his mouth. I quickly stabbed my knife through the eye socket of the walkers head where it laid on the ground, snapping its jaws in my direction.

"It's gotta be the brain." I said to the men around me. Then I sent an apologetic glance at Dale, after Daryl got threateningly close to his face for telling him kicking the walker wasn't going to help, and stalked off after him to the fire pit.

"Merle! Get your ugly ass out here, got some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up!" he yelled upon seeing Glenn and Andrea talking to the others, meaning that they had gotten back from their run yesterday. I noticed a bright red Camaro, stripped of anything useful, and a box truck, both parked a ways off from the other vehicles.

"Daryl, Amanda, wait up, we got somethin' we need to talk to you about." Shane said behind us. We both turned to look at the man, "there was a problem in Atlanta." He continued.

"_No." _My heart dropped as I tensed, eyes flitting to Daryl where he stood looking at the ground, squirrels forgotten in his hand, and looked back to Shane.

"He dead?" was all Daryl said, his body was rigid.

"We don't know" Shane said.

"How the hell do you not know?!_" _I asked, becoming infuriated_. _

"Either he is or he ain't!" spat Daryl, circling around Shane slowly, vehemence in his eyes. A man I didn't know stepped forward, his was a new face.

"I handcuffed Merle to a rooftop in the city, he was a danger to our safety and he was out of control." He said, obviously trying to calm a seething Daryl. It didn't help.

"Who the hell are you?" he hissed at the man, after he introduced himself as Rick Grimes, Daryl repeated the name with a look of disgust. "Hold on, let me process this… you handcuffed my brother to a roof, AND YOU LEFT HIM THERE?!" he bellowed. The vein in his forehead was sticking out, and his face was quickly turning red.

"Yeah" he admitted, he looked ashamed.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I questioned, and Rick's eyes landed on mine, full of apologies.

With Rick's admittance, Daryl threw the squirrel in his hand at his head and started to advance on him, but was tackled to the ground by Shane. Without hesitation, I ran to help him, seeing the potential threat to Daryl caused my fury to boil to the surface, forcing me into action. Rick's caught a hold of me and pinned my arms behind my back. I watched, struggling against Rick's hold on me, as Shane and Daryl wrestled in a tangle of flying limbs. I made a last desperate attempt to get to him as Shane held Daryl's neck in the crook of his arm.

"Chokehold's illegal!" he raged, unable to get out of it. The two men were matched in strength as I watched them struggle. Being unable to help, I let out a frustrated yell, then the men stilled, Daryl looked up to see me struggling in Rick's firm grasp, and his eyes hardened even more. The entire group was watching the four of us, two seething, and the other two restraining us from helping the other.

T-dog stepped forward, "I chained the door to the roof closed," he looked at us, "walkers can't get to him."

"That's right, now we're gonna have a calm discussion about this, alright?" Rick said.

"It'll be calm, as long as you take yer hands off her." Daryl stated, staring at the spot where Rick's fingers were digging into my flesh. His hands sprang apart, and Shane's hold on Daryl lifted, I stepped forward to help him up.

"Hell with all y'all, jus' tell us where he is so we can go gettem'." Daryl's voice cracked as he tried to catch his breath. He didn't ask if I would want to come, but he didn't need to, Merle was family.

"You're not going by yourselves, I'm going back" Rick stated.

"Me too." Said the Glenn and T-dog.

"Well, my day jus' keeps getting better n' better" Daryl growled. He grabbed my arm, firmly, yet gently, and pulled me over to Merle's truck where our weapons were stored.

* * *

Glenn sat in the drivers' seat of the box truck while Daryl paced the back. I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed, watching him. He looked like a caged animal, biting his thumb nail, as he first walked to the front of the truck then back, eyes burning, as Rick and T-dog said goodbye to the group. I couldn't help but overhear as Lori told Rick _"Watch your back around those two."_

"Bitch." I mumbled, just loud enough for Daryl to hear. He let out an unamused laugh, too worked up to find it funny. He walked to the front of the truck, honking the horn with his foot, he yelled for them to get a move on. Throwing the door closed as soon as T-dog climbed into the back, he sat next to me on the floor, fingers thrumming against his crossbow impatiently.

The ride to the city was long and silent. As the truck passed the wreckage of cars on the other side of the road, the destruction became more and more pronounced. The closer the city skyline became, the more burnt out and wrecked cars there were. Bodies lay on the street, unmoving as crows pecked at the rotting flesh hanging from their bones. For the 6th time I checked that my Beretta was fully loaded and the safety was off, Daryl noticed my repetitive habit and laid a hand on my knee. It was a small gesture, but it calmed me, and my hands stopped shaking for the time being.

When Glenn pulled the truck to a stop, I held back a groan, and Daryl pulled open the door. The five of us were silent as we crept, single file, through a hole cut in a fence, and began to follow Glenn as he led the way to the tall building standing in front of us. Once inside, I let out a small sigh of relief, but it was only temporary as Daryl and Rick cleared this floor of the department store. Glenn headed for the flight of stairs at the back of the room. After what felt like hours of climbing steps, we came to a steel door, held shut by a heavy duty chain and padlock. Daryl bounced on the balls of his feet as Glenn cut the chain.

When he kicked the door open, we both rushed forward, weapons at the ready. Yelling Merle's name Daryl looked wildly across the rooftop, searching for the hulking mass that was his brother. The sight I saw next caused my stomach to clench painfully as nausea swept through my body.

"Daryl…" I said quietly, but he was yelling too loudly to hear me. "Daryl!" I repeated, louder this time. He strode over, to see what I was looking at on the ground and immediately stated screaming "no" repeatedly. Sitting on the black top of the roof was Merle's hand, next to a dull hacksaw, both surrounded by blood.

* * *

I sat silently, staring at the floor of the office we were in. Daryl had tracked the trail of blood leading to the window that I now sat next to. Merle had gotten out of the building, but not before cauterizing his stump of a wrist. The evidence of which had been sitting on the table in the next room, the kerosene lamps and a metal plate with burnt skin clinging to it. Now I leaned against a desk, and waited as Glenn drew on the floor, illustrating a plan to retrieve the bag of guns Rick had dropped on his last excursion to the city.

"Sound good to you?" Daryl asked me, snapping me out of my mental images of Merle running down a street crowded with walkers, holding a bleeding stump of a hand.

"Huh?" I asked, feeling stupid. I walked over to the drawing on the floor, T-dog and Rick would be around the next building, Daryl would be guarding Glenn's escape route as he made a mad dash for the bag, and I would be standing on the low roof of the main entrance, covering Glenn as he ran. "I guess it has to, doesn't it?" I said, knowing there was no other choice.

Standing on the low roof, I watched as Glenn darted up the street, he was small and quick, and with impressive agility he managed to dodge being seen by any walkers. As I watched him run back towards the alley, bag of guns in tow, a cry rang out from the alley Daryl was in. It was screaming "_Ayudame", _loudly. I tore across the roof before jumping into the alley, reaching it at the same time as Glenn, and the sight in front of us had me screeching to a halt. Daryl was on the ground, curled in upon himself as two large Hispanic men landed blow after blow upon him. But that wasn't what stopped me, everything in my body was screaming to run and help him, but more men were advancing on Glenn and I, knives held out, pushing us back out to the street filled with walkers. A silver car screeched to a halt behind us as Glenn dropped the bag of guns and both of us were pushed into the car.

"DARYL!" I screamed desperately. The door closed, and as the car started to speed away, the last thing I saw was Daryl's stunning blue eyes, alive with terror and fury, find mine as T-dog and Rick ran up behind him. A bag was pulled over my head and everything went black as I felt the car lurch with a sudden burst of speed.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: First and foremost i give credit for all the dialogue i used in this chapter to the amazing writers of the show. I tried to use as little as possible, but it wouldnt have been possible to pull this off without it. as always, please review!**

* * *

Daryl

"Where the hell did they take her?!" Daryl bellowed at the boy. It was taking everything in his body not to beat the young Hispanic kid in front of him into an unrecognizable pulp. But that would mean never finding Amanda, or Glenn, for that matter. The thought had him shaking with rage and fear. The kid sitting in front of them was the only one that had been left behind by the group of men who had attacked Daryl and taken Amanda and Glenn, their only way to find them. Instead of hitting the boy, Daryl settled for kicking over the lamp in the corner of the room, it did little to help curb his rage.

"Those men you were with, we need you to tell us where they went." Rick said quietly to the boy, trying to compensate for Daryl's ferocity.

"Man, I ain't tellin' you nothin'." Sneered the boy.

"Jesus man, what the hell happened back there?" exclaimed T-dog.

"I told you," yelled Daryl, "this little turd and his douchebag friends came out of nowhere and jumped me!"

"Man, you jumped me, _Puto,_ screaming about finding your brother like it's my damn fault" he retorted.

"They took Amanda and Glenn, coulda taken Merle too." Daryl explained when T-dog and Rick looked to him.

"Merle?" the boy spat, "what kinda hick name is that? I wouldn't name my dog Merle." With that Daryl ran at him and aimed a kick at his head, only to be pulled back by Rick.

"Dammit, Daryl, back off." He said, pushing him away. Seeking some other way to get the kid to talk, Daryl reached into Glenn's bag and pulled out the bandana which was wrapped around Merle's hand. He had taken it, intent on giving his brother some excuse of a burial, no matter how pathetic it was.

"Wanna see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?" he asked, eyes on Rick and T-dog, daring them to call his bluff. He threw the hand at the boy. When it landed in his lap he yelled, throwing it away from him while falling off of the chair. Daryl lunged at the boy, grabbed his collar and threatened, "maybe I'll start with the feet this time!" Again, Rick pulled him off, but this time he crouched down until he was eye-level with the disgruntled boy.

"The men you were with took our friends. All we wanna do is talk to them, see if we can work something out." He reasoned. As the boy looked from the calm-faced Rick, to Daryl, irate and ready to attack again, and finally to T-dog, he let out a sigh.

"Yea, ok." He conceded.

After checking the alley for walkers and pushing the boy out of the door to lead, the four started navigating through the city. The pace was slow, constantly being on the look-out for walkers, as they made their way to the abandoned warehouse, and Daryl's patience was running low. When they stopped, splitting up so T-dog could take a rooftop viewpoint with his rifle, Daryl paced, impatient. When they stepped into a small courtyard, two heavy metal doors swung open, and several Hispanic men exited the building, weapons drawn. A man a half-foot shorter than Rick walked out, unarmed, and asked the boy if he was ok, and looked back to the pair when he began to whimper.

"Guillermo, they're gonna cut off my feet man." He cried.

"That's pretty sick, taking Miguel's feet?" he said to Rick.

"We were hoping more for a calm discussion" replied Rick.

"_Calm discussion, my ass_." Daryl thought. As he aimed his crossbow at the kid, his eyes were darting everywhere, looking for even a hint of Amanda's long brown hair, or her blue and green eyes.

"You got a girl, and an Asian kid in there?" Daryl asked bluntly, eyes snapping back to Guillermo when he found nothing. No more beating around the bush, his desperate want to find her was turning into a desperate need.

"I might, you interested?" he questioned.

"We have yours, you have ours. Seems like an even trade." Rick bartered.

"Don't sound even to me, I see my bag of guns there, behind your back." Said Guillermo, ogling the bag on Rick's shoulder hungrily.

"It's my bag of guns." Snarled Rick. Guillermo studied Rick for a moment, before taking another step forward.

"What's to stop my men from unloading on you right now, and I take what I want?" he questioned as guns all around cocked.

Rick smirked. "You could do that," he paused, looking up to the roof "or not." Guillermo's eyes followed Rick's gaze to the roof, where T-dog had his rifle trained on him.

"_Oye._" Guillermo smirked. And on the opposite roof men stepped forward and Daryl's heart dropped. Glenn and Amanda stood in their grasps with bags over their heads. He watched as the bags were pulled off, and Glenn whimpered trying to back away, held there by his captors. Amanda didn't flinch, but when her eyes found Daryl's, he saw the terror in them, and it infuriated him.

"Let 'em go!" he yelled, aiming his crossbow at Guillermo.

"Leave Miguel and my guns, and everybody walks." He replied coolly.

"I told you, they're not yours" retorted Rick. Guillermo studied him for a tense moment before strutting forward and stopping inches away from Rick's face.

"I'm gonna chop up your boy. I'm gonna feed him to my dogs. They're the meanest sons of bitches you've ever seen. And as for the girl," he laughed, "well it's been awhile since my men have seen a woman…Especially one as pretty as her." The men all around let out approving yells and catcalls, and Daryl's vision turned red. In a matter of seconds, he let the crossbow fall to his side, pulled out his shotgun, cocked it and held it up to Guillermo's head. An arrow to the head wouldn't satisfy his want to annihilate the man in front of him. Daryl was ready to blow the bastard away when an old lady walked into his peripheral vision.

"Felipe! Felipe!" she was calling, searching for the man to Guillermo's right. She stopped when she saw the men, weapons ready, about to fire upon each other. "What are you boys doing?" she asked with a heavy Spanish accent. The men all lowered their weapons slightly, taken aback by the woman's unexpected appearance. Seeing Rick's police uniform, she rounded on the man named Felipe, fury in her eyes that only a grandmother could muster.

"Put that weapon down! He is a police officer." She said, pointing her finger at Rick, "Do you want to go back to jail?" she asked him, astounded he would raise a weapon to an officer. He lowered his gun to the ground. "And you," she turned to Rick, "what did my grandson do? I will take care of him, there's no need to take him away." She obviously didn't know there no longer was any law.

"Ma'am, I'm not here to arrest your grandson, I'm here to… retrieve some people from his custody. A fella named Glenn and a young woman named Amanda." He explained. Daryl peered up to the rooftop, but saw Glenn and Amanda were no longer there, along with the men that had been holding them. His heart stopped and he quickly searched the ground, expecting them to be laying on the concrete, broken and lifeless. He returned his attention to the woman when he didn't see them.

"The Asian boy, and the angry girl?" she asked, "They're inside with Mr. Gilbert," she turned to Felipe, "Mr. Gilbert needs his asthma stuff, he can't breathe." She started walking back in the direction she came from and the man followed her. Rick turned back to Guillermo with an eyebrow raised.

"Lower your weapons, and follow me." He said with a sigh.

As they walked through the building, Daryl had to side-step a few times in order to avoid running into any of the elderly. As Rick looked into the rooms, perplexed by what was going on around him, Daryl pushed on, eyes scanning every face, looking for Amanda. He let out a sigh of relief when they entered a large day-room. In the middle, was a cluster of people, elderly and young combined, standing around a man trying to catch his breath. Glenn was among them. To the side, leaning against a wall was Amanda. Her arms were crossed and she wore a scowl as she watched the group, but it lifted and she lurched forward into Daryl's embrace when she saw him, half running toward her.

He crushed her body against his, breathing in the floral scent of her hair, and pulled away, looking down at her. His eyes scanned her body, looking for a bruise, a cut, anything that would give him a reason to hurt the men who had taken her. When he was assured there were none, he looked back into her eyes. They stared into his, deep and unwavering as he asked if she was okay. Her scowl returned, as she said she was fine. He held back his chuckle, knowing she wanted to hurt them just as much as he did.

"I will never let anything like this happen to you again." He promised her, taking her face in between his large hands.

She looked up at him, eyes deep and unreadable, and quietly said "I know." They stared at each other, blue eyes on blue eyes, and Daryl felt the overwhelming desire to place his lips on hers. He looked down at them, full and pink, slightly parted as if they were waiting. His heart raced as he started to lean forward.

"Daryl, Amanda!" Rick's yell came from across the room, "C'mon." Both jumped and Daryl dropped his hands as he cleared his throat, turning to walk away. After a few seconds she caught up to him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her cheeks were red, but he said nothing about it.

"C'mon, we gotta get back to camp." Rick said once they reached him. With a quick goodbye, the five headed out of the nursing home and quietly snuck back to the truck as the sun began to set. As they made their way up the abandoned highway, everyone was quiet, feeling that they had cheated death. Daryl resisted the urge to look back at the retreating skyline as his mind wandered to where Merle was. But it was brought back to Amanda every time he saw her fidget in her spot next to him. With everything in him telling him not to do it, he gently took her hand without looking at her. She stilled, and he started tracing small circles into the soft skin on the back of her hand. He continued his tracing, not looking at her, the entire ride to the camp. Until they heard the gunshots.


	6. Chapter 5

Amanda

Daryl squeezed my hand as the truck sped around the bend and gunshots echoed across the quarry. The scene in front of us could only be defined with one word, _chaos_.

"Stay close to me!" Daryl bellowed, as he threw open the door on the back of the truck, magnifying the sound of the screams filling the night, and pulled me out. Nodding, I unholstered my pistol. Keeping an eye on Daryl, we started making our way to the RV. I saw a walker stumbling towards Jim as he bludgeoned the head of another one that was leaning over… Amy. I froze, dumbfounded, and then shook my head. There was no time to mourn right now, that would have to wait. Taking aim, I took down the walker just as it reached Jim. Turning back towards Daryl my heart jumped into my throat. He was distracted, tearing walkers away that were reaching for Sophia and Carol, he didn't see the two that were pressing in on him from the left.

"Daryl, get down!" I screamed. He looked over to where I stood, gun pointed in his direction, and threw himself to the ground. I took the walkers down easily, and ran over, extending my hand to help him up whilst putting my gun to the temple of yet another walker and pulling the trigger. Cold blood erupted from its head, coating my arm and neck. I shuddered and swallowed the bile that rose in my throat, and we continued to stalk forward, taking down walkers to both sides.

It took another 10 minutes of gunfire, groans and screams before there was silence throughout the camp. Our group was gathered next to the Winnebago, significantly smaller. The ground around us was littered with bodies, decaying and the recently deceased intermixed. Daryl pulled me to his chest, his heartbeat was thundering under in my ear, and my body relaxed into his. The relief was short lived as Andrea started crying Amy's name.

* * *

The air was thick with the acrid smell of burning flesh. When the sun had risen, the initial shock of the herd's attack wore off and everyone had started cleaning up the corpses. Carol grabbed the feet of a walker while I grabbed the arms, and together we carried it over to the growing pile of bodies that was giving off a heavy black smoke.

"A walker bit Jim!" Jacqui shouted across the campground.

"No. No. No. I'm okay. I'm okay" said Jim, desperately looking around for someone to believe him.

"Show it to us." Spat Daryl.

When Jim kept repeating his denial, T-dog rushed him and pinned his arms behind his back, and Daryl lifted his shirt. Underneath was a perfect of imprint of human teeth. The wound was inflamed and bleeding. Everyone backed away from him, Daryl placed his body between me and Jim, shielding me as if he was already rabid.

Nobody knew what to do with Jim, and when Jacqui guided him to sit on a cooler in the distance, a small group gathered, trying to decide his fate. Daryl, Rick, Shane and a few other members of the group stood among it.

"I say we put a pick ax through his head, and be done with it" Daryl was arguing. I could tell by his frequent glances between Jim and I that I was the main reason he wanted to put him down. The fact that he was willing to kill a man to ensure my safety had me teetering between flattery and guilt. Instead of arguing with them, I continued to work on clearing out the bodies around me.

"Is that what you would want, if it were you?" Shane asked him. I pushed away the thought of Daryl, reanimated from death, and kept working.

"Yea, and I'd thank you while you were doing it." He replied.

"And what if it was Amanda? Would you be able to do it then?" asked Rick quietly. I fumbled as the question left his lips and turned slowly to meet Daryl's eyes, where they were staring at me, unable to answer Rick's question.

"That's different." He muttered to Rick, still holding my eyes.

"That's what I thought. Now I think we can get him help, the C.D.C.-" Rick began.

"Y'all do whatever you need to do," snapped Daryl. "Come on Amanda, let's go do our sweep." With that he walked away, and I followed, taking the rifle he held out for me.

As we walked through the forest, scanning for any movement, I thought about the pained look on Daryl's face when Rick had asked him if he would be willing to put me down. What if the roles were reversed? Would I be able to put him down as his breathtaking blue eyes stared up at me? I knew the answer immediately.

"I'd do it myself, y'know." I blurted out. He rounded on me.

"What did you say?" The anger in his eyes only barely concealed the pain and sadness at the thought of me ending it.

"I couldn't make you do it. I know the guilt would kill you." I murmured. "I know because, if it was me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself." Tears stung my eyes and I looked away. I hated crying, hated admitting that weakness. He took a few steps toward me.

"Hey, look at me," he said tenderly. When I didn't he gently placed his fingers on my chin and turned my face to look at his. "You won't have to. And neither will I." he dipped his head to my level, "I promise."

As his unwavering stare held my watery eyes, my stomach clenched and felt like it was filled with butterflies. The memory of him staring at me, the same way he was now, at the nursing home ran through my mind. What if this was our last chance? Another attack like last nights could happen at any moment. Either one of us could be ripped away from the other at a moment's notice.

With that thought in mind I leaned forward, pressing my lips against his. He froze, and pulled me away by my shoulders to look at my face. My eyes were brimming with tears now, and he looked torn. A lone tear escaped, and made its way down my cheek. At the sight of it, I watched his resolution crack. His fingers traced my jawline as they made their way into my hair, weaving themselves through the long, brown locks. His other hand cradled my face and he stared down at me, eyes flooded with emotions. He pulled my face back to his and gently pushed his lips against mine. My arms wrapped around the back of his neck as the kiss deepened. The man who had been there for me my whole life, the man who protected me no matter what, was standing here kissing me. My knees almost buckled when his soft tongue pushed its way through my parted lips-

"Eh-hem…" Came a voice behind us. I jumped and we sprang apart. Wiping my lips on the back of my hand, I spun around, to find Dale. He looked down, knowing he had interrupted something.

"Rick and Shane want to talk to us all." He said while staring at the root of a tree. With one last furtive glance, he looked at us, where we stood silent and red-faced, then abruptly turned and walked back towards the motorhome. I turned to look at Daryl, but he too, was staring at the ground.

"Daryl, I-"

"Come on" he said. He walked past me, and without looking at me, followed Dale. I stood for a moment, trying to catch my breath. With a furious swipe, I wiped my tear streaked face and followed after them. When I stepped out of the tree line, everyone was circled around the fire-pit. I stopped beside Daryl and he quickly walked to the other side of the pit.

A dull ache spread through my chest as Rick explained his plan to move everyone to the C.D.C.. I could barely pay attention as Rick explained his reasoning. Daryl still wouldn't look at me.

"_He thinks kissing me was a mistake"._ The thought caused my eyes to sting again. When the group broke apart to collect their belongings, I watched Daryl's back retreat to his tent. With a sigh, I turned and walked to mine to pack up my belongings.

When I turned back, Merle's truck was already taking its place at the back of the caravan, with Daryl at the wheel. I could see a rifle propped up in the passenger seat and knew that it wasn't open for me. With one last glance at the truck, I shouldered my bag and rifle, checked one hip for my pistol, and other hip for my hunting knife, and headed for the RV.

"You riding with us?" asked Glenn. Brushing past him without answering, I walked to the middle of the bus and sat down on the bench in the kitchenette. I stared out the window, and watched through the corner of my eye as Glenn turned back to Dale with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Hey, you okay?" asked Dale anxiously.

"I'm fucking fine, let's just go." I spat, not caring about hurting his feelings. It was his fault I was sitting here anyways.

Ignoring the astonished look between the two, I laid down on the bench, with my back to them, hoping to get some sleep to escape the thoughts running rampant through my head. The RV began to move, and from outside I heard a rumble as the truck accelerated. With a groan I closed my eyes.


	7. Chapter 6

Daryl

_"Fuck."_

Daryl watched as the RV two cars in front of him gave a shudder and stopped.

"_Just what I need."_ He watched Dale, Jim and Rick gather around the engine where smoke was pouring out. Slamming the door, he got out of the truck just as Amanda came out of the motor home. One cold glare was all she gave him, he knew she was pissed. With a heavy heart he watched as she walked off towards the trees on the side of the road, hand on the pistol at her hip, ready to draw it if needed.

"Stay with the group!" Shane shouted at her retreating back. As she flipped him off over her shoulder, Daryl heard a mumbled "fuck off, Shane." and held back a laugh, recalling how vulgar she got when she was mad.

"You need to control your damn woman" admonished Shane, looking at Daryl, and pointing at Amanda. She paused and looked back, watching Daryl with cold, scrutinizing eyes as she awaited his reply.

"Ain't my woman." Daryl muttered, looking anywhere but at her. But, he heard the scoff, and from the corner of his eye he saw her shake her head and walk into the trees.

_"Fuck_."

"I'll, uh… I'll go talk to her." said Glenn. Although, Daryl suspected he just wanted to escape the tension that now hung in the air.

"Good luck, she got a head as hard as a damn rock." Daryl hissed, as he turned to climb up the RV to take watch. It was true. How many times had he argued with her over trivial things, only to lose to her stubbornness? Thousands, probably. Whatever sense Glenn was going to try to talk into her would fall on deaf ears. With a sigh he sank into the lawn chair on top of the Winnebago, eyes skirting the landscape as Shane and T-dog made their way to a gas station down the road in hopes of finding a new hose for the RV.

Twenty minutes passed, and Daryl smirked when he saw Amanda march out of the forest, expression unchanged, followed by a dejected looking Glenn. As he watched her walk over to Andrea and sit down, his mind wandered back to their kiss that morning. His heart fluttered as he remembered the feel of her full, pink lips moving against his own. He could have gone on forever, feeling her toned body pressed against his, breathing in the light floral scent that always lingered on her skin. But he had fucked it up. When Dale interrupted, all of his senses had come flooding back to him. This was Amanda. He knew there was more than just attraction between them, something much deeper. She wasn't a one night stand kind of woman; the only one Daryl knew how to deal with. He'd seen too many other men do it to her. Every time she had ever told him it had happened again with that sorrowful look in her eyes, his heart ached. He couldn't be the cause of her pain, he wouldn't.

He was startled out of his reverie when the RV started up beneath him. When he jumped down, he caught a fleeting glimpse of her leg as it disappeared into the camper. But he could feel her eyes burning into his back as he walked back to the truck alone. The thought of avoiding her until the kiss was forgotten –if it ever was- was physically painful, but he would bear through it to keep from hurting her more.

Leaving Jim behind, they continued on their way.

* * *

As the sun began to set, the caravan drew closer to the C.D.C. and stopped. Upon exiting the vehicles, everyone was assaulted by the stench of death and decay. Bodies littered the ground and Daryl had to draw a shaky breath before advancing forward, crossbow drawn. The group advanced to the metal doors of the large, white building, and Daryl couldn't help but place his body between Amanda and the open space to her right. Talking or not, he'd rather die than watch her get attacked when he could have protected her. When they reached the doors and Rick tried to open them, they didn't budge.

"There's nobody here!" exclaimed T-dog, exasperated.

"Then why are these shutters down?" yelled Rick. To his right Daryl saw a walker stumbling towards them.

"We got walkers!" he shouted. It only took one arrow to the head to take it down but there were more coming from the shadows. They were too close to the city as night was falling. Daryl drew the rifle on his back. "You led us into a graveyard!" He snarled at Rick.

As Rick and Shane bickered about where they would go and whether or not the security camera moved, Daryl and Amanda moved forward, absentmindedly forming the perfect team that they were, and started shooting down the ravenous walkers. But there were too many, and soon they would be overrun. The women and children began crying, as the men fought back against the undead as best as they could.

"We gotta get back to the truck!" Daryl screamed at Amanda over the pandemonium. When she nodded in agreement he seized her elbow, and started dragging her to the truck as she shot at the walkers closest to them.

Then Rick started screaming at the camera, while Shane dragged him away. He was a man possessed, the imminent death of his family mere seconds away. Daryl tried to block it out as his vision tunneled in on the truck; he had to get Amanda into it and away from the city. But he stopped short when a light from behind him elongated the shadows silhouetting Amanda and himself. Spinning around, he stared incredulously into the blinding light. Amanda nearly toppled over when he started running with her in tow, towards the now open door. Once they reached the empty lobby of the building, he released her arm and helped T-dog shut the door before the walkers could get in.

A gun cocked from the hallway to the right. Daryl whirled around and threw Amanda behind him, adrenaline still coursing through his veins.

"Anybody infected?" asked the man holding the gun.

"One man in our group was," said Rick as he tried to catch his breath, "He didn't make it."

* * *

Daryl took another swig from the bottle of Southern Comfort he now held in his hand. After everyone had taken a blood test that was required, by Dr. Jenner, he led them to the cafeteria. The constant near death experiences had everyone's nerves ground to the core, and when Dr. Jenner had produced multiple bottles of wine, Southern Comfort, Jack Daniels –which had earned an exclaimed "sweet baby Jesus!" from Amanda- and Wild Turkey, they had rejoiced. Now they sat around a table, drunk and laughing. Celebrating. They had found safety.

Daryl watched as Amanda took another large gulp from the half drunken bottle of Jack Daniels in her hand. Her face was flushed, her eyes were glassy, and her words were slurred, but she was laughing and smiling as she talked to Andrea and Jacqui. As soon as he had been assured that they were safe, Daryl had reverted back to avoiding her. Watching her now, he was regretting it. Some of his best memories came from drunken nights spent with her, an occasional bar fight -both on his and her account-, pranks on the other when they passed out drunk, and unstoppable fits of laughter. Now he was sitting across the room with Glenn, and although his spirits were uplifted thanks to the bottle in his hand, the only place he wanted to be was in the empty seat next to her. Instead, he got into a drinking match with Glenn, T-dog and Rick where he sat.

Once everyone had drunk their fill, Dr. Jenner showed them around the makeshift housing area. The words "hot water" were said and with an air of excitement, everyone headed off to take a shower.

Feeling pleasantly refreshed, Daryl was making his way back to his room from the showers to finish off the bottle in his hand when he ran into Dale, who was closing the door to Andrea's room, Daryl could hear her retching inside.

"_Lightweight_" he thought.

"Daryl! I've been wanting to talk to you about something, son." said Dale. Daryl felt his stomach drop. He knew exactly what Dale wanted to talk about.

"'Bout what?" asked Daryl, preparing himself for what came next.

"Well, I noticed that Amanda has been riding in the RV, and I don't mind, she's a lovely girl... most of the time." He smirked, referring to her temper, "but I can tell the two of you are pretty close." He paused, waiting for Daryl to agree with him, when he just continued to stare, wobbling a little in place due to his intoxication, he continued, "I also noticed that the two of you haven't been talking much, I was wondering if there was anything you guys needed help with."

"Don't need help with anything." mumbled Daryl, staring at the rug. Dale didn't buy it.

"Daryl, listen to me, I see the way the two of you look at each other. You may not want to admit it but, I can tell you care deeply for her. The way you protect her, defend her. She means something to you, and you mean something to her." The words stuck in Daryl's mind, but he pretended not to care.

"Anythin' else?" Daryl slurred.

"Yes," he said, lowering his voice. "You may not be around forever, same goes for her. She's something special. I can't say I've ever met anyone like her. Cherish her while you have the time Daryl. It might not be as long as you think." With that he bid Daryl goodnight, and left him leaning against the wall in the empty hallway with only his thoughts and a bottle of whiskey. How had he not thought about it? With all of the death and destruction he had witnessed so far, he had never imagined her being on the other end of it. She could be here today, and gone tomorrow.

"No." he said aloud, to no one but himself. Maybe it was his alcohol-soaked brain, or his true feelings, pushing their way through, but he knew what he had to do. Pushing himself off the wall, and turning the corner, he ran into a very angry and intoxicated Shane.

"Watch where yer goin'" the man garbled. He pushed Daryl in the shoulder, but stumbled backwards himself. Daryl's temper flared, but as he watched Shane stumble away, he knew it wouldn't be worth it. He had something more important to do.

Weaving drunkenly throughout the halls, he realized he had no idea where Amanda's room was. He decided to double back to see if he could find Dale to ask him. As he turned around he heard glass shatter from around the next corner, followed by something that made his blood run cold.

"Shane! What the fu-" yelled Amanda's voice.

By the time Daryl had made it around the corner, the hallway was empty except for the broken bottle of Jack Daniels scattered across the floor. But the door next to it was cracked slightly and he could hear a muffled struggle coming from inside. As he crept closer he could only hear Shane's slurred voice.

"Think you can disrespect me in fronta' everybody an' get away with it, huh?" he spat, vehemence clear in his voice. "You wanna be such a little bitch all the time? Well let's see how ya feel like actin' when yer boyfriend ain't around to protect ya."

With that said, Daryl threw open the door and took in the scene in front of him. Pinned against the wall by Shane, was Amanda, her eyes flew to Daryl's when the door crashed open, and she let out a muffled cry. Daryl's eyes darted from where one of Shane's hands was pinning both of hers to the wall above her head, to the other hand that he was holding tightly over her mouth, and to her shirt where it was torn at the collar, exposing her black bra and ample cleavage.

But what made Daryl's mind go blank and vision turn red, was the fact that her legs were spread, held in place by one of his, and his belt was unbuckled.

"**YOU SON OF A BITCH!**" Daryl screamed as he charged at the man, fist raised.


	8. Authors note

**A/N: Just a heads up, I can't stand writing Amanda's pov in second person any more. The amount of times I had to use "you" bugs the heck out of me. I will be going back and fixing the rest of the chapters to be the same. Thanks for dealing with it so far, because I certainly cant!**

**Should have the next chapter up tonight! :)**


	9. Chapter 7

**A/N: This ones kinda short but with everything I had to save for the next chapter it would have been like, ten pages long. I hope you guys like this one! please review! :)**

* * *

Amanda

The force of Daryl colliding with Shane was enough to knock all three of us to the ground, along with the picture that hung next to us on the wall. Daryl landed on top of Shane, fists flying as they connected with his head and face repeatedly. I landed four feet away, on top of the picture. My forearm exploded with pain as the glass shattered beneath it.

Ignoring the pain, I hurriedly pushed myself away from the brawling men towards the open door. Footsteps crackling over the broken fragments of the Jack Daniels bottle announced the arrival of Rick, Lori, Carol, Jacqui, Andrea, Dale and T-Dog. They must have heard Daryl yell. I kept dragging myself backwards, trailing blood across the carpet, until my back ran into Lori's legs. I looked up to see them staring in shock as the two men wrestled with each other. I looked back and gasped as Shane got the upper hand on Daryl, maneuvering so he now sat on top of him. The thud of each blow to Daryl's head resonated through mine. I didn't think as I grabbed Rick's Python out of the holster on his hip that was to the right of my head.

* * *

Daryl

Daryl braced himself as Shane raised his fist to punch him again, but the hit didn't come. Looking up, Daryl saw why. Amanda stood with the muzzle of Rick's gun held to Shane's temple. A heavy stream of blood trailed down her arm, dripping onto the gun and carpet.

"Get the fuck off of him." She said in a low, livid voice. Shane raised his hands, slowly getting off of Daryl and backing away from the enraged woman.

"Daryl, get up." She said in a flat tone, eyes and gun never moving from the man in front of her.

Daryl did as she said and watched as she glared at Shane. There was no emotion on her face, but he watched as her finger hovered over the trigger, twitching. Daryl knew she was battling in her mind whether or not to kill him. For a tense moment, everyone stood frozen; the only sound was Shane and Daryl's heavy breathing, and the blood dripping to the floor from Amanda's hand. Daryl glanced down and began to panic as a pool started forming under her outstretched arm. Looking back up he saw that her hand was shaking and her complexion was beginning to turn pale.

"If you touch me again, I'll kill you." She threatened. Shane began to nod but she continued.

"If you touch Daryl again, I will kill you." Her blue eyes flitted to Daryl's for a brief second and back.

"If you touch any of them…" she paused, motioning to the cluster of people at the door using the gun, causing them to cower before she trained it back to Shane's head. She stepped closer until she was inches from his face.

"I will paint the wall with your fuckin' brain, and I ain't gonna lose a minute of sleep over it. Do you understand me?" Shane nodded once, but that wasn't enough for her.

"**DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" **she bellowed.

"Yes, I understand." Shane said tersely.

"Good." She glowered at him. Flipping the gun around in her now blood-soaked hand, she extended her arm towards Rick, who cautiously stepped forward to take it. But she stopped halfway, her eyes had never left Shane's face and when she offered the gun back to Rick, he had smirked. Before anyone could stop her, she let out an infuriated yell and brought the butt of the gun down on Shane's head, knocking him unconscious.

"Holy shit." muttered T-dog.

Daryl ran forward to catch her as her knees gave out. He took the gun from her trembling hand and handed it to Rick.

"Hey, hey, hey. Look at me." He quietly said to her, cupping her face with his hand to look up at him. "Yer okay, I gotcha." He looked down at the gash on her arm; she was losing a lot of blood. Her face was pale and her deep blue eyes were starting to flutter closed.

"Someone go find a needle n' some thread." Daryl said, dragging his eyes away from her face to look up at the frozen cluster of people at the door. Carol nodded and ran off to find the supplies.

"Rick…" His eyes strayed to Shane, lying limp on the floor.

"I got it." Rick said quickly, moving forward to deal with his friend.

"Amanda, I'm gonna take ya to my room okay?" he said to her. "I gotta stitch up that arm." She nodded weakly. He put one arm around her shoulders, one under her knees, and picked her up. Carrying her bridal-style, they passed Lori, Andrea, Dale and T-dog who were all staring, mouths agape, shocked by what they had just witnessed. Carol ran to catch up with Daryl as he hastened towards his room. She held a bottle of Southern Comfort, a spool of thread, and a needle in hand.

"Do you know how to stitch up a cut like that?" she asked him worriedly, eyes fixed on the spot where Daryl's hand was applying pressure.

"Ain't my first time." He muttered, remembering all the times he had had to stitch himself up after one of his fathers' beatings.

After kicking open the door to his room, he looked down at the woman in his arms.

"_Shit". _Her eyes had closed.

"Put a towel down on the sofa. She ain't gettin' an infection." He ordered to Carol. Once she had done so, he laid her down on top of it gently. Dousing the needle and thread in the whiskey, he sighed and got to work on closing the wound on his best friends' arm.

* * *

An hour later Daryl sat in a chair across from the sofa Amanda was sleeping on, drinking from the bottle of Southern Comfort. He had stitched her up, and her pulse seemed normal, but he couldn't bear to leave the room. Everyone but Shane and the kids had come to check on her. Rick's voice had been thick with remorse and apologies. Carol had taken off her tattered shirt and covered her up with one of Daryl's sleeveless ones while Daryl looked away.

Daryl took another swig from the bottle and watched the sleeping woman. How could he have let this happen? If he had just had the balls to even talk to her after the kiss she wouldn't be laying here right now, unconscious, half bled to death. He would have been with her and she would've never run into Shane. His grip on the bottle tightened as he thought about Shane. The thought of him even touching her had his stomach roiling. He sighed, as much as Daryl wanted to kill him; Amanda had done a decent job of defending herself once she was able. The sound of the gun hitting Shane's head replayed in his mind and he smiled, shaking his head as he took another gulp.

Amanda rolled over in her sleep and turned her back towards Daryl. His shirt was three sizes too big for her and fell off her shoulder with the movement, revealing something deep blue. Daryl jumped up, had that motherfucker left that dark of a bruise on her? Kneeling beside the couch he pulled the shirt over farther, and his anger dissipated, instead of the dark bruise he had thought he would find, he was staring at a beautiful tattoo of a blue and green hummingbird.

"_When did she get that?"_ He wondered. It didn't look new; in fact it looked as though it was several years old. He gingerly ran his fingertips over the artwork, marveling at the half he could see, the other half was still covered by the shirt. The gentle caress of his fingers roused her from her sleep and she rolled over, blurry eyed and confused.

"Daryl…?" She questioned softly, her eyes searched his face, expecting anger, or pity. She didn't expect to see the tenderness filling his eyes as his fingers brushed over her tattoo.

"What are you-"she started to ask, but she was quickly cut off as his lips crushed into hers. Her hands flew to his face, framing it as they lightly traced his cheekbones. He shivered as her fingers made their way down to his neck and cupped it to pull him closer. His tongue pushed past her lips and met hers, they danced across each other as he gently explored her mouth. He wrapped his hand around the back of her head, threading his fingers through the silky locks of her hair. Her floral scent filled his nostrils and he pulled away, their lips made a small smacking sound as they separated.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, eyes still closed, he touched his forehead to hers. "I'm sorry. If I hadn't been avoidin' ya, you wouldn't be layin' here, you wouldn't have run into-"

"Shh." Her thumb brushed over his lips as she tried to calm his worried mind. "I'm happy that I'm here right now. Please, can you jus' lay with me? We can talk 'bout it tomorrow. Please?" Her fingers threaded through his and he nodded, giving in at the tenderness in her voice and eyes. She moved over so he could lie down beside her, curving herself into his chest as he wound his arms around her waist.

It didn't take long for her to fall back asleep, with the added help of his steady breathing against her back and his fingers running through her hair. He marveled at her beautiful profile for a while, before he too, fell into a deep sleep.


	10. Chapter 8

Amanda

My head pounded as I opened my eyes, and the alcohol-ridden images of last night flooded my mind. I pushed away the worst of the memories and focused on the ones that had happened after Daryl carried me past the threshold of his door. I remembered, through the haze of semi-consciousness, the stinging push and pull of the needle as it pierced my skin. With a wince, I lifted my arm to inspect Daryl's handiwork. The black fiber sealing the gash was threaded carefully and intricately. I turned my head to look at the man sleeping behind me.

His deep breaths fanned over my skin, hot and humid, as his muscle-bound arm hung loosely across my waist. The worry lines that often furrowed his brow were relaxed, nearly non-existent. The peaceful look on his face was rare, almost shocking. I watched as his eyelids twitched with whatever he was dreaming about.

The few other times our faces had been this close, I had never had the chance to study his. I did now, I looked from his tanned skin, to the mole above his lip, to the stubble on his chin, flecked with grey. My eyes stopped at his lips, relaxed and parted in his sleep. The memory of them moving, tenderly, against mine caused my stomach to fill with butterflies. Reflecting on it this time, I felt no anguish; he hadn't pulled away or refused to talk to me afterwards.

Not being able to stand the allure any longer, I leaned forward to lightly press my lips to his. His eyes fluttered open, and instead of pulling away like I thought he would, his hand reached up to cradle my face, holding us together. My nostrils filled with his familiar scent, a faint trace of pine, gasoline, and man. It filled me with a sense of security, as it always had. I pulled away, and stared into his crystal blue eyes.

"Hi." I said meekly, a small smile playing across my lips.

"Hi." He replied, a smirk also making its way across his, he traced my cheekbone with a calloused finger. He opened his mouth to say something else just as my stomach rumbled.

"Let's get some breakfast." He chuckled. The word 'breakfast' sounded like a luxury, and I eagerly agreed.

* * *

Carol tried to hide a smile as her eyes flickered to Daryl's hand entwined with mine as we walked into the cafeteria. I had tried to let go of it before we entered the room, thinking that was what he was going to do anyway, but he gave me a pointed look and held my hand to his lips, kissing the back of it. Publicly displaying affection was not something I had anticipated from him, but I had to admit I kinda liked it.

We sat in the seats next to Glenn, who was leaning over his plate, head in his hands, groaning. I chuckled as T-dog walked over and put powdered eggs on the plates in front of us.

"Never let me drink ever again." groaned Glenn, turning a light shade of green at the sight of the eggs.

"The protein helps with the hangover." T-dog told him, trying but failing to hold back his laughter. I scoffed.

"Only way to cure a hangover is to drown it with more alcohol." Laughing, I reached for the half full bottle of Jack Daniels -my favorite- that was at the end of the table. Glenn gagged as he watched me take a swig, then hand the bottle to Daryl, who followed suite. T-dog shook his head at me then laughed as Daryl offered the bottle to Rick, who adamantly refused.

"Didn't you almost bleed out last night?" he asked me, when I simply nodded he turned to Daryl. "Y'all rednecks raise your women tough don't ya?" T-dog asked him.

"You could say that." He laughed, smiling at me. His smile disappeared suddenly, and when I looked to the door, so did mine. Shane walked in, and made his way towards the coffee, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. His face was covered in a rainbow of bruises and there were scratches across his neck.. The jovial air in the room turned tense as we all recalled last nights' events. Daryl's hand tightened around mine under the table, and from the corner of my eye I saw his jaw clench.

"What happened to you?!" asked Carl incredulously, gasping when Shane turned around to face the group.

"Nothing you need to worry about." He told him, as his harsh eyes found mine.

"I, uh… I want to… uh, apologize." His eyes shifted to Carl and Sophia for a second then back to mine. Daryl was rigid next to me and I could feel the aura of restrained fury radiating from him.

"I was… out of-" he struggled to apologize, ego battling with morality, but I cut him off.

"If ya remember what I said, and can find it in your better judgment to abide by it, we shouldn't have any more problems." I said flatly, repressing the fleeting memory of his hands ripping my shirt open. He nodded once and broke eye contact, taking a seat away from the rest of us, just as Dr. Jenner walked into the room. The tenseness in the room lifted, although Daryl's hand flexed repeatedly as we started eating our eggs and bacon.

"Doc, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing…" Dale said to the doctor.

"But you will anyways." interjected Jenner, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea said bluntly.

* * *

Jenner led us across the bridge into a large room that held numerous work stations and a large computer screen at the front of the room. As we gathered around the front screen, I couldn't help but notice my skin tingling where Daryl's hand was resting on the small of my back. He placed himself between Shane and me, and I was contemplating whether or not Daryl even noticed he always placed himself between me and whatever possible danger happened to be around, when Dr. Jenner started talking.

"This is Test Subject-19." He motioned to the screen as it lit up, displaying a picture of a human brain. We watched as the brain died, and after being invaded by a black substance, came back to "life" gasping for whatever food source was nearby.

"It invades the brain like meningitis." He said sadly, as I watched the muzzle of a gun enter the frame and fire, rocketing a bullet through the skull and cutting off all activity in the brain.

"What was that?" Carol asked, regarding the bullet.

"He shot his patient in the head." I said quietly, my eyes still glued to the screen. "You dunno what it is, do you?" I asked him, when I could finally tear my gaze from the monitor to Dr. Jenner's somber face.

"It could be viral. Fungal, parasitic…." He looked around, dejected.

"There's no hope, everything's gone." said Andrea with tears in her eyes.

I stood staring at the screen after it shut down, absorbing his dark news. Daryl mumbled about needing to get shitfaced again while rubbing his hands down his face. Lori and Carol clutched their children closer to them. As everyone gave up the little hope they had remaining, Dale stared at the wall.

"Doc, I know this has been taxing for you but I have to ask one more question," he pointed to the wall, where a clock was counting down. There was one hour to go. "That clock, it's counting down," he rounded on Jenner, "what happens at zero?"

I glanced at the doctor. An ominous clock counting down to zero could never mean anything good. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw him flinch, then recover.

"The basement generators… they… run out of fuel."

"What happens then?" Rick asked, but Jenner had already turned around and strode out of the room, leaving us baffled. A few moments passed in silence.

"Alright, there has to be more fuel," said Rick, assuming the leadership role. "Shane, Glenn, T-dog, come with me. We need to go find it."

I turned back to Daryl, and he threw his arm around my shoulder.

"C'mon." He said in my ear. Grabbing his bottle of whiskey, we walked back to his room.

"Hey, 'member the time ya caught yourself in your own boar snare, and you had to hang there for hours 'til I got worried and tracked you down?" I laughed. Sitting on the couch in Daryl's room, I was trying to take my mind off of Jenner's crestfallen face and the nagging feeling that something was very wrong. Daryl rolled his eyes.

"Don't remind me" he chided. His mouth then twisted into a maniacal smile. "'member the time we got treed by that pack of coyotes, 'cause you forgot to bring extra ammo?" he slid closer to me on the couch, "and we had to sit like this," he pulled me onto his lap, "for hours?"

My mouth turned dry and my heart started to pound harder when his lips brushed my ear as his voice rumbled. All thoughts of Jenner, fuel, or clocks quickly fled my mind.

"Mm-hmm." Was all I was able to manage.

"And do y'know how hard it was for me to not do this?" His fingers brushed my skin as he gently pushed my hair away, and his lips traced small kisses down my neck, making me shiver, before making their way back up to my earlobe and gently sucking on it. My breath hitched and a small whimper escaped me. He stopped, and I turned my head to glare at him, but his lips quickly caught mine. This kiss wasn't as soft and tender as the others had been. His warm, wet tongue pushed into my mouth and battled for dominance over my own. My hand cradled his cheek as the other knotted itself into his hair. His were on the back of my neck and on the small of my back, holding me closer to him. I crushed the remaining space between us and caught his bottom lip between my teeth. As I sucked on it gently, he let out a moan.

I pulled back to catch my breath and heard someone's door bang open outside in the hallway. Then another, then worried voices filled the space outside of our door. With a groan, Daryl placed one last kiss on my lips and pulled me from his lap to the spot on the couch next to him. As he walked towards the door, the lamp on the side table turned off, as well as the air conditioning. Daryl opened the door and stuck his head into the hallway.

"Yo, why's everything turnin' off?" he asked to the others in the hallway. I stood up to peer around him into the hall as Dr. Jenner walked by, ignoring the peppering of questions aimed at him.

"Hey, I'm talkin' to you!" berated Daryl. Grabbing my hand, he pulled me into the hallway as he, and everyone else followed the doctor towards the big room.

"Zone 5 is shutting itself down." Jenner sighed.

'What does that mean? How can a building do anything?" Daryl questioned angrily.

"You'd be surprised." Jenner replied, hanging his head.

Rick, Shane, Glenn and T-dog came running into the room at the same time we reached it. Rick held up a hand to Lori, stopping the questions that were forming on her lips.

"Jenner, what is happening?" his voice was alarmingly worried.

"The system is dropping all nonessential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running until the last possible second." He stated matter-of-factly. Rick turned to us, panic etched into his features.

"Alright, everybody go get your stuff, we're getting out of here, **now**!"

Daryl grasped my arm, somewhat roughly with the urgency thick in Rick's voice, and we started running towards the door. We were a feet away when a thick metal panel slid down, locking us in.

"What the hell?" Daryl gasped beside me.

"He just locked us in!" yelled Glenn.

"It's better this way." Jenner's eerily calm voice sent a chill through my body.

"What's better this way?" I asked slowly, cautiously turning to face our captor.

"In the event of a catastrophic power failure, H.I.T.'s are deployed to prevent any of the deadly diseases contained here, from getting out."

"I dunno if you noticed, but there's already a deadly virus out there, you missed one, Doc! Now let us out!" Daryl yelled, pointing at the door.

"I don't control it, the building itself will eliminate the chance of anything getting out." Jenner said, sitting down heavily in his chair.

"Wh-what's an H.I.T?" stuttered Carol, clutching Sophia in her arms. He sighed.

"A high-impulse thermoboric fuel-air explosive." When we stared at him, baffled, he continued. "It's an aerosol ignition system that creates a blast wave more powerful than any known explosive –except nuclear- It burns the air around us at 5,000 to 6,000 degrees." He finished, seeming pleased with himself.

I gripped Daryl's arm in fear, but it was ripped away as he charged at Jenner.

"Open the damn door!" he yelled, trying to pull the man out of his chair. He was stopped by Shane and Rick. He then turned back with a wild look in his eyes, and ran to the emergency case in the corner of the room. He broke the glass with a hard kick and took out the two axes within it. He tossed one to Shane and began hammering on the thick metal door. The only marks he made were mere scratches. Shane joined him, hatred forgotten in a time of desperation, and the two men savagely beat the unrelenting door.

Feeling useless, I watched them desperately try to get us out, and listened to the conversation going on behind me.

"It will be quick, painless- over in a millisecond." Jenner was explaining to the now crying Carol.

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!" she sobbed.

"Isn't this better though? A quick easy death, no agonizing pain, no terror." He pushed.

"No." Rick interrupted him. "You are giving us no choice! No chance! Our blood will be on your hands." He held back a sob, holding Lori and Carl close to him. "All we want is a chance."

"Daryl…" I said, my voice shaking. "Daryl, it's no use." He turned and strode over to me, placing his hands on both sides of my face he pulled me to his lips, which crashed down on mine. When he pulled away, his eyes were determined.

"I waited twenty damn years for this," his fingers tightened slightly around my face "I ain't lettin' you go, now that I finally got you." I nodded silently and he placed another kiss on my forehead before returning to the door. He raised his axe to hit it again and it opened, I looked back to see Jenner and Rick staring at each other, he must have convinced him.

"Come on!" yelled Daryl, seizing my arm, we ran out of the door, up the stairs, and into the lobby through which we had entered.

"The doors are locked!" I screamed as I tried in vain to open them.

"Move!" yelled T-dog. I jumped out of the way as the men attacked the door with chairs, axes, and Shane's shotgun. Nothing made a dent. It wasn't until Carol produced a grenade out of her bag that I felt any glimmer of hope.

"Get back! Get back!" Rick yelled as he pulled the pin, and placed it next to the obstructing window. I threw myself to the floor next to Daryl, covering my ears as the explosion rocked the it and shattered the glass.

"Let's go! Get to the cars!" Someone shouted, I couldn't tell who. Daryl picked me up off the ground and placed me on my feet, pushing me out the empty window frame. My feet couldn't move fast enough as we ran to the blue pick-up truck that was our salvation. I looked behind me to see Andrea and Dale jump out of the window as someone started honking a horn. i realized Jacqui wasn't with them. Daryl swung open the door of the truck and threw me in, then flung his body over mine as a second, much larger explosion rattled the ground around us. Heat bristled over my skin that wasn't covered by Daryl's body.

As the noise died down, Daryl's breath was heavy and jagged in my ear. We sat up, and looked out the door to the burning rubble that we had thought was our safe-haven. I looked over to Daryl, who was staring at me instead of the destruction.

"Told you I ain't letting you go." He stated, and started the truck. Our caravan slowly U-turned and made its way back in the direction we had come.


	11. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry this one took so long, I'm gonna be honest, I got stuck. I hope you guys like it, Please remember to review!**

* * *

Daryl

Daryl sat in the passenger seat of the truck, absentmindedly biting at his thumbnail while Amanda drove. Her impatient fidgeting had finally driven him crazy enough that he let her take the wheel on the last bathroom break. Now he sat with one foot on the dash, watching the abandoned Georgia landscape pass by, interrupted only by the occasional walker. They had only driven a fraction of the way to Fort Benning from the demolished C.D.C. so far.

He looked over at her; she had one hand on the wheel and the other hanging out of the window. The breeze had blown her hair into a mess that she had given up trying to tame. He watched as she scratched at her shoulder, and remembered.

"When'd you get a tattoo?" he blurted out. Her hand stilled and she looked over at him quickly before looking back to the road.

"You saw that?" she asked quietly. The haze of alcohol and blood loss must have made her forget the small detail of his fingers brushing over it the night before.

"Yea, kinda hard not to…" he paused, realizing how perverted that must have sounded. He was basically saying he had seen parts of her body that she had obviously tried to hide, all while she was asleep. He cleared his throat, hoping she would ignore it. "When'd ya get it?" She hesitated before answering him.

"'Member the time my dad took me to Miami for two weeks to see my Aunt Lorraine?" she asked, still looking at the road. He grunted in reply. Those two weeks had been painfully quiet and lonely; also, she had come home with a black eye.

"Well, Dad overheard me tellin' Aunt Lorraine that I was thinkin' bout gettin' a tattoo, and he went off, sayin' only whores get tattoos, and shit like that." Her eyebrows knitted together.

"_Explains why she always hides it_." He thought to himself. As much as Daryl fought with Merle's voice inside his head, he knew Amanda struggled with her dad's, subconsciously telling her she was a whore, or that she wasn't good enough, or that she deserved it every time he hit her.

"So naturally," she continued, "I slipped a few Vicodin into his bourbon that night, took his wallet, and went to the closest tattoo parlor." The corner of her lip curled up. "It's for my mom. Hummingbirds were her favorite animals."

Now Daryl found himself smiling as well. Amanda was almost a spitting image of her mother. From the deep blue and light green of her eyes, to her long brown hair. Even their hands were the same. She had died when Amanda was 19. She was a nice woman, but she loved her alcohol. She had worked as a waitress at one of the local bars that would let her stay after her shift and drink. In the end they found her in the parking lot, dead from alcohol poisoning. Daryl remembered the few times she had actually been home and sober, she was always nice to him. And much to their embarrassment, she was convinced that he and Amanda were secretly dating.

"Why they stoppin'?" she asked, snapping Daryl out of his memories of their youth. Ahead, the caravan was approaching a small town, and all the cars were coming to a stop. When Amanda stopped the truck behind Shane's Jeep, Daryl started to open the door before turning back to her.

"I like it... It looks good on you." he murmured. He took a moment to fully enjoy the faint pink blush that spread over her face as she stared at the steering wheel, before getting out and shutting the door. She followed him and they joined the small group that was gathering around Rick, who was explaining his next plan.

"We're running low on gas." He said. "I don't see a point in keeping all the cars now that our numbers have dwindled. Carl, Lori, Sophia, Carol and I can take Carol's Cherokee. Dale, I hope you don't mind if Andrea, Shane, Glenn and T-dog are with you. Daryl and Amanda-"

"We'll be on the bike." Daryl stated, motioning to Merle's motorcycle that was still strapped into the back of the truck. Amanda looked quickly from him, to the bike and back again with wide eyes. Merle would kill them if he knew they were even going to touch it.

"Alright, sounds good." said Rick. Everyone split up and started siphoning the extra gas out of the remaining vehicles and make sure they weren't leaving anything else behind. With a makeshift ramp and a little help from Amanda, Daryl managed to back the bike out of the truck. He filled the tank as she stowed their weapons and meager belongings in the saddlebags. Daryl started the bike and mounted it, chuckling as Amanda hesitantly stepped forward. Finally, after taking a deep breath she got on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Merle's gonna throw a shit fit" She muttered in his ear. He let out a laugh and eased the rumbling bike to take lead of the caravan. With a signal from Rick that they were good to go, they resumed their journey.

* * *

The purr of the bike was calming as they traveled along the empty highway. After about half an hour, both Daryl and Amanda had started to feel at ease on the bike, and not like they were doing something wrong. Now, Daryl was becoming more and more aware of her arms wrapped around him. He smiled guiltily when he found out she held on tighter when he swayed it from side to side. She must have realized it too, because the next time it happened, he received a smack on the arm.

Another half an hour into the ride, Daryl spotted something up ahead. Slowing the bike, he navigated around a car flipped on its side, revealing hundreds more in the same or worse condition behind it.

"Damn." He whispered. Amanda silently nodded in agreement as he tried to find a way through the wreckage. The rumble of the bike broke up the eerie silence that surrounded them. They had just passed a burnt out Mitsubishi when the engine of Dale's RV sputtered and started spewing smoke from the engine. Daryl stopped the bike and shut it off, letting Amanda get off, before he put down the kickstand and followed.

"I knew it, said it a thousand times" griped Dale, as he watched the smoke roll out of the engine. "Dead in the water, with no hope of-"

"Umm… Dale" Amanda interrupted, motioning to the abandoned cars that surrounded them.

"Ok, that was stupid." He admitted, looking around him. Shane smirked as he started mocking him.

"If you can't find a spare hose here-"

"We can find a lot of stuff here." Daryl interrupted him, sifting through the contents of an open hatchback.

"Like food, or water?" Carol asked hopefully as she clutched Sophia to her.

"Or _anything_ useful." Amanda stated, joining Daryl in his search.

"This is a graveyard" Lori said profoundly. Everyone paused and looked at her as her words sunk in. After a moment, Amanda shrugged and went back to looking through the car.

"Ain't like they're comin' back for it." She mumbled to Daryl, who grunted in agreement, before he too resumed his search. The group eventually joined them and spread out, searching for anything that could be of any use.

Daryl was in the process of searching the glove box of a truck when Amanda leaned against the side. A smile spread across her face and she handed him a cigarette from a pack she had found. He took it graciously, and she lit it. The nicotine flooded his brain and he threw his arm around her shoulders as he leaned against the truck next to her. Looking down at her, he noticed she had changed out of the clothes that she was wearing before, she must have found these new ones as she searched the cars. Now she wore a tight, black tank top which exposed her tanned skin, most of her tattoo and a good amount of cleavage, a pair of cargo pants, and her own well-worn Timberlands. Her hunting knife was holstered to her right thigh and a rifle was slung across her shoulder, her Beretta was still in the same place on her left hip. She looked deadly, ready to kill, and Daryl couldn't help thinking that she looked damn sexy.

"So… I wanna ask you somethin'." She said, flicking the ash of her cigarette. He dragged his eyes from her body and looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue while puffing on his own cigarette.

"Wh-what is this?" she stuttered, realizing that he had been ogling her. She motioned between the two of them. "What are we?"

"We…" He started, but paused. He looked to the ground, his brow furrowed. What were they? What was sufficient enough for what was between them? "I-" he began again, but this time, he was cut off as Rick ran by, in a hushed and panicked voice told them to get under the cars.

"Get down!" Daryl ordered her quietly, all conversation forgotten. He pushed her under the truck, and dropped to his knees to get under it with her, when he saw T-dog, stumbling his way through the cars, leaving a trail of bright red blood behind him from the arm that hung uselessly at his side.

"_Fuck_."

With one last look at Amanda where she peered up at him from under the truck, he got up and ran after the injured man, following the path of blood.

* * *

Amanda

My heart sank as I watched Daryl get back up, turn and run in the other direction. I swallowed the urge to yell after him and pulled myself out from under the truck. Stalking after him, always keeping his broad shoulders in sight, I glanced through the car windows at the walkers that were advancing towards us. There were at least a hundred that I could see.

It wasn't until I watched Daryl stab a walker through the base of its skull and throw it over T-dog that I understood why he had run off, T-dog was drenched in his own blood, defenseless. Throwing my body to the ground, I army crawled under the car to Daryl's right. When he looked over and saw me from under the dead walker he had thrown over himself, I watched, first anger at the fact that I hadn't stayed under the truck, then understanding pass through his eyes. He slowly reached over and squeezed my hand.

I didn't dare to let go of his hand or look away from him as what seemed like a thousand walkers passed by us. The sea of tattered clothes and shuffling feet felt endless. Every once in a while one would step on him or kick him as they were passing, and I had to throw my other hand over my own mouth to keep my panicked breathing from being heard.

After they finally passed we still didn't move. We had no way of knowing if more were coming, or if the ones that had passed were far enough away. It wasn't until we heard Sophia cry out, that we tore our gazes away from each other and I pulled myself out from under the car. Daryl pulled the walker off of T-dog, and with one of his arms over each of our shoulders, we dragged him back to the RV.

Rick and Sophia were nowhere to be seen, but judging by the way Carol stood sobbing at the guard rail, held by Lori, I could guess what had happened.

"There's two walkers chasing my baby!" she cried over and over again in disbelief. Daryl and I dragged T-dog to the RV, where Dale got to work tending to the laceration on his arm.

"What happened?" I asked Dale quietly, not wanting to upset Carol farther. He looked at me with sad, worried eyes.

"Sophia got out from under the car too soon, and was chased over the guardrail by two walkers. Rick ran after them." He explained.

I looked to Daryl; he was scanning the tree line, eyes wary as he looked for any sign of Rick, Sophia, or the walkers. I walked over to the guard rail, with my hand on my pistol and looked down the embankment. I could see the tracks of Sophia, small and spaced out, indicating that she was running. They were followed by two larger tracks, smudged and sloppy, the walkers. And finally I looked to the spot where the branches were snapped and the grass was flattened, ripped up in some places. Rick had fallen down the hill as he chased after them. I couldn't see anything past the shade of the trees, and because of Carol's sobbing, I couldn't hear anything either. Shaking my head sadly, I turned back to the cars surrounding us and got back to perusing through their contents.

It was another half hour before Rick emerged from the trees, his white shirt tinged dark red from the walker blood. When Carol saw that he was alone she wailed, falling to the ground as sobs racked her body.

"She's not here?" he asked, taking in Carol's devastation and looking around for the Sophia's small frame.

"No, we thought you would be bringing her back." Shane spat. Rick ran a hand over his face as he realized she was still in the woods, alone. Daryl and I stepped forward, both sure that we could track her.

"Show us where you last saw her." Daryl told Rick. Rick nodded and he started to lead us over the guardrail, into the woods. Glenn and Shane followed. As we hiked through the trees, I surveyed the ground. Noting where Rick had intercepted Sophia in her panicked dash, and followed his tracks to where he had carried her to the small cove made of tree roots in the creek.

"You sure this is the spot?" Daryl asked Rick as he inspected the small, makeshift shelter. He and Rick stood ankle-deep in the creek while Shane, Glenn and I stood on the bank.

"I left her right here," he said, motioning to the cove. "And drew the walkers up the creek. She was gone by the time I got back here, I figured she ran back off to the group. I told her to go that way," he pointed behind Glenn, "to keep the sun on her left shoulder."

"Assuming she knows her right from her left," chided Shane as I began to search the ground for Sophia's tracks. "The kid's tired and scared man, she had her a close call with two walkers. Gotta wonder how much of what you said stuck."

"No." I said, shaking my head. "I got clear prints right here," I laid my hand on Glenn's shoulder to move him off of the small footprints he was standing on, and looked back up to Rick as he climbed up the creek's bank. "She did like you said, headed back to the highway."

"Let's spread out and head back" Daryl suggested as Rick offered him a hand to pull him out of the creek. I let him take the lead, but kept my eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. We were halfway back to the highway when Daryl crouched down, resting his crossbow in the dirt, and examined the ground.

"She was doin' fine til right here. She jus' had to keep goin'. She veered off that way." He motioned to the right.

"Why would she do that?" questioned Glenn.

"Maybe she saw something that spooked her, made her run off." Shane said as I started surveying the area, looking for any disturbances.

"Walker?" Glenn questioned.

"I don't see any footprints. Just hers." I said, shaking my head, still searching. "Maybe she just got confused?"

"So what do we do? All of us press on?" Shane asked.

"No, better if you, Glenn and Amanda head back up to the highway." Rick looked at me, silently questioning if that was okay. I nodded once to tell him it was fine and looked at Daryl, but he was glaring at Shane. "People are going to start panicking. Let them know we're on her trail, doing everything we can. But most of all keep everybody _calm_."

Shane nodded in agreement. "I'll keep 'em busy, scavengin' cars, think up a few other chores. I'll keep 'em occupied." He turned and walk back to the highway. I started to fall into step with Glenn when Daryl's hand caught my elbow, spinning me around to face him, and I looked up at him.

"If he tries anything…" he muttered quietly, tapping the knife strapped to my leg. I nodded. "I don't want him thinkin' he can get the jump on my girlfriend jus' 'cause I ain't around." He grinned. There it was. I tried to hold back the smile that spread across my face, but failed. He chuckled and placed a small kiss on my lips before turning me back around to face Glenn, who let out a laugh. I realized that my face was hot, and probably bright red. I punched his shoulder lightly and we followed after Shane. I could feel Daryl's eyes on my back until we were out of eyesight.

"So tell me," said Glenn, breaking the silence after about five minutes of walking. "How do you guys track? When we were back there I couldn't see anything. But you two were on her trail like it was painted red." I laughed.

"It's all 'bout knowin' what's not supposed to be there ya know?" When he looked just as lost as before, I sighed. "You said you did pizza delivery before, so I guess you lived in the city. It kinda comes naturally when you've spent most your life in the woods" He nodded and I continued. "say you're trackin' a deer, but it's not bleedin' or anything, so you have to rely on what it's left behind. What you wanna look for is grass that's flattened from them walkin' on it. Or a branch, broken, or pushed in an unnatural direction from them pushin' past it. It ain't gonna be like the stuff you see on tv, with skin particles or blood leadin' you right to 'em. It's much more subtle." He nodded again as if he understood but from how his brow was furrowed, I could tell that he didn't. Up ahead the guardrail came into view.

"Maybe if we get the chance I can teach ya." I said as I stepped over the metal. I returned to the cars, trying to block out Carol's crying as Shane explained the situation to her.

* * *

Everything was tinted a shade of orange as the Georgia sun set, elongating the shadows around us. I paced the roof of a minivan, peering into the trees using the scope of my rifle. If it got any darker out, the woods would be the last place anyone would want to be. But I was prepared to go and track the two men down if they didn't show up in the next five minutes.

When I saw their figures appearing through the dim shadows, I let out a sigh of relief, despite the fact that Sophia was nowhere to be seen. Jumping down from the roof, I held back the urge to run to them. Instead I waited until they were close enough to the guardrail to climb over and hug Daryl. He returned the embrace but his expression was dejected.

"You didn't find her?" Carol asked in a shaky voice. Rick stared at the pavement for a moment before looking to her, eyes full of guilt.

"Her trail went cold." He said apologetically, "we'll pick it up again at first light."

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own! To spend the night alone in the woods!" She cried.

"Carol… it's no use to try in the dark." I said, trying to calm her when Rick looked down at the ground guiltily and Daryl shuffled his feet. "They'd only be trippin' over themselves. More people'd get lost."

Daryl's eyes shifted to me before looking back to Carol. "We tracked her for a while." He said quietly.

"She's just a child." She said, ignoring Daryl and looking desperately to Rick, who crouched down in front of her. "How could you leave her out there in the first place?" she asked, motioning out to the woods.

"It was the only choice I had. Now, Daryl and Amanda know the woods better than anybody. I've asked Daryl to oversee this." He looked at me where I stood next to Daryl. "Amanda, I'm hoping you'll be able to help us out as well."

"'Course." I said quickly, nodding my head. Carol looked over at us and paled when she looked at Daryl.

"I-is that blood?" She asked, pointing to Daryl's leg. Everyone looked and Daryl shuffled his feet, uncomfortable with all eyes on him.

"We took down a walker." Rick said. As Carol nearly collapsed onto the guardrail he hurriedly added, "But there was no sign it was ever near Sophia." He reached his hand out to place it on her shoulder, but she smacked it away.

"How can you know that…?" Andrea questioned. It was Daryl who answered.

"We cut the sumbitch open. Jus' to make sure." I laced my fingers through his and gave his hand a small squeeze. He squeezed back lightly.

"My little girl got left in the woods." Carol said, defeated, gazing out into the trees. With that, Rick walked away, hands on the back of his head, and the group split up, heading to their cars as the sun finally set.

"Come on." I said to Daryl, pulling him towards the minivan I had been standing on earlier. It was where I had set up a makeshift bed in the back while I was trying to distract myself from the ominous forest.

As I pulled the hatch shut behind us, I felt Daryl's hands firmly grab my waist. Turning around, I was met with a firm kiss planted on my lips. My eyes fluttered shut and I let out a small moan into his mouth. Pulling us backwards, he flipped us over so he was laying on top of me. I pushed my tongue into his mouth and ran it over his teeth. His hands traveled up my sides, leaving a trail of goose bumps, and stopped once they reached my neck and cradled it, thumbs anchored under my jaw to keep it held up to his face.

In a heartbeat the kiss intensified. His knee separated my legs and he placed himself between them, his hips meeting mine. I could feel how hard he was through the denim of our pants. I rolled my hips into his and he moaned, pulling his mouth away from mine with a small smack. My eyes flew open and I groaned as I took in the sight of him, holding himself up on his elbows, breathing heavily, looking down at me. His blue eyes were lustful and I had to bite my lip to keep from pulling him back to me.

"W-we have to stop." He panted. My stomach clenched as I felt the all too familiar sense of rejection wash over me. Pushing him off, I sat up, and turned to glare at him.

"Why?" I asked before swallowing thickly and looking away. "Do you… do ya not… want me?" I stared at one of the window columns, refusing to look at him as my face quickly turned red.

"That's not why." He said quietly. I scoffed and continued to glare at the column. "Amanda," his hand reached out towards me and I flinched away. He paused but then gently cradled my chin in his hand, turning my face to look at him. He held onto it as I tried to resist looking at him, but he won. When my eyes met his, they were soft, but not full of pity like had I expected.

"I wanna do this right," he stated. "ya ain't the type of woman that I just wanna fuck. You n' I both know ya mean more to me than that. I mean, Jesus!" he motioned to my body, making my face turn even redder if it was possible. "of course I wanna fuck ya'. I know you picked out those clothes on purpose." I fidgeted a little under his stare, he was right. "But I seen you been hurt too many times to jus' treat ya like the rest of 'em did." My heart fluttered a little bit at his words and he dipped his head to bring us to the same eye level. "Okay?"

I nodded, scared of what would come out of my mouth if I opened it, and he snickered at me. He pulled me into his broad chest and placed a kiss on the top of my head. Then he pulled me back until we were laying on top of the blankets, his arm still around me. Gradually his heart beat under my ear slowed down and his deep, even breaths filled the car, lulling me to sleep as well.


	12. Chapter 10

**A/N: Once again, I'm sorry this took longer! Between Easter and being sick and reading other stories, I procrastinated.I have so many ideas for later on down the road but i had some writers block with this part.  
**

**And I know I've been jumping all over with POV's, it really just comes to me as I'm writing and I stick with it. **

**Guest who said LoveIt: Thank you so much :)**

**Please remember to review!**

* * *

Daryl

Daryl was roused from his sleep by the muffled voices talking just outside the van. He listened, chuckling darkly as Glenn and T-dog argued with each other.

"You wake 'em up." Glenn said quietly.

"Man, I ain't wakin' 'em up! That's like walking into a redneck-wolf den." T-dog retorted.

Daryl looked over at Amanda sleeping beside him. She had rolled away from him during the night and was lying on her stomach, arms crossed under her head, supporting it. Judging by the steady rise and fall of her back, she was still asleep. With a heavy sigh, he sat up, pulling the sliding door of the minivan open as quietly as he could, and stepped out. He'd give Amanda a little extra time to sleep before they headed out looking for Sophia.

"If y'all gonna be too pussy to wake us up, then don't stand by the damn door arguin' 'bout it." Daryl said grumpily as he stretched. The two men looked down sheepishly as he walked past them.

Daryl took a pack of pop-tarts from the ever-growing pile of supplies found from the cars and strode over to stand besides Rick. The older man stood with his hands on his hips, staring morosely into the forest.

"We'll find her." Daryl mumbled. Rick jumped, not even noticing that Daryl had been standing beside him. He looked over at him and Daryl could see the dark circles under his eyes. The guilt of leaving that little girl alone in the forest was eating away at him. He nodded once, then his eyes found their way back to the trees and he nodded again, as if trying to convince himself that Daryl was right.

"We'll be leaving in about 30 minutes, as soon as everybody is up and ready." Rick said, keeping his gaze on the trees. Feeling there was nothing else he could say, Daryl turned around and walked back towards the minivan. He grabbed another pack of Pop-tarts for Amanda and clenched his jaw as he approached the van. She was pleasant when she woke up of her own accord, but waking her up was a pain in the ass.

After about five minutes of shaking her shoulder, enduring sleepily mumbled threats to his manhood, and dodging a few poorly aimed punches, Daryl was able to wake Amanda.

"Leavin' soon." He said as he offered her the Pop-tarts, ignoring the bleary eyed glare he was receiving. She peered around him to the group slowly gathering in front of Carol's Cherokee, squinting into the sunlight. She snatched away the pop-tarts and ripped open the silver wrapper.

"They all comin' with us?" she asked, taking a bite of the pastry. When Daryl nodded, she let out a groan. "There goes any chance of huntin'. Might as well have a damn elephant followin' us."

Daryl chuckled, it was true. This group was anything but quiet. What with the women whining over everything, Carol crying all the time, and the kids -well, kid- running around. The forest would not be a quiet, calm salvation to them today. Amanda pulled on her boots and they climbed out of the van. The pair walked up to the others at the Cherokee, where Rick had rolled out a collection of impressive looking Gerber machetes. Amanda picked up the cruelest looking one and inspected it with a malicious grin.

"Who found these?" Daryl asked as he took the weapon from her to admire it himself. The metal was twisted along the blade, forming sharp teeth that would quickly gut whatever it was stabbed into. The blade itself was pristine, obviously never used before.

"I did!" Carl piped up excitedly. He looked between the adults, looking for some praise for his discovery.

"If you can find more shit like this, you'll be my right hand man." Amanda said to the boy as she took back the weapon, Carl smiled brightly as Amanda turned her back on the glare Lori was sending her way.

"As… impressive as these are," Andrea said, trying to spare Carl's feelings. "They aren't the kind of weapons we need." Daryl watched her send a pointed look at Dale, and noticed the butt of Andrea's pistol hanging out of his pocket.

"We've been over that." Shane said from the shade of the RV's awning. "Daryl, Amanda, Rick and I will be carrying. Don't need people poppin' off rounds every time a tree rustles."

"It's not the trees I'm worried about." Andrea scoffed as she reluctantly grabbed her own machete. Growing irritated by the bickering, Daryl stepped forward.

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, then turn 'round and come back down the other side. Chances are she'll be by the creek," He paused and stole a glance at Carol, "It's her only landmark." He walked away, refusing to look at the depression masking the woman's face. He joined Amanda at the guardrail after gathering his crossbow and her weapons from the van. They smoked the two remaining cigarettes in the pack she had found, waiting for the group to gather themselves.

By the time the others were ready, their cigarettes had been smoked down to the filters as the two tried to absorb every bit of nicotine that they possibly could until they found another pack. Aside from T-dog and Dale, the group joined them at the guardrail, armed with various weapons. Following Amanda and Daryl, they clamored over the guardrail and began the trek into the forest.

They followed the tracks from the previous day until they came across the gutted walker. Carol paled and Lori shielded Carl from seeing it. Amanda walked up to the corpse and lightly kicked its head with the toe of her boot. Inspecting the dissected stomach, she looked up to Daryl and Rick with a small smirk.

"Woodchuck?" she asked, seeing the small skull amongst the contents. Rick told her yes and she shrugged her shoulders, crouching down to continue searching the forest floor for any possible trace of Sophia. There were none. Rick instructed the group to spread out and they continued on, with Amanda on the far left and Daryl on the far right. Rick figured the only two who knew anything about tracking should be able to see the entire area they were searching. Daryl clenched his jaw, not liking having so much space in between her and himself. But, judging by the way she was swinging her new machete at every branch and bush, he knew she'd have no trouble in taking out a walker if she came across one, would probably enjoy it actually.

They continued on in that formation for half an hour before something caught Daryl's eye. Letting out a low whistle he motioned to the others where he was looking. Twenty yards to his right stood a tent.

"Sophia could be in there." Shane whispered, causing hope to flicker across Carol's face.

"Could be a whole buncha things in there." Daryl said, trying to keep her hopes from getting too high.

As Rick, Daryl and Amanda stalked up to the tent there was no movement, no sound from inside the small canvas shelter or around it. Daryl handed Amanda his crossbow, which she aimed at the entrance of the tent, muscles taut as she awaited anything that may come out. Daryl unsheathed his knife and stealthily approached the tent, attempting to take a look inside. When he couldn't, Rick asked Carol to call out for Sophia softly, hoping that if she was in there, it would be her mothers' voice she would respond to.

When Carol's meek, tearful cries went unanswered; Daryl began to slowly unzip the flap of the tent, watching out of the corner of his eye as Amanda quickly came to his side. The stench of rotting meat burned their nostrils when he pushed open the flap and they began coughing. Amanda's knuckles turned white with her grip on the crossbow as she held her breath and aimed it into the tent before Daryl climbed in. Once inside, he observed the blood splatters on the canvas behind the decaying body of the poor bastard that had blown his brains out. He scanned the contents of the tent for anything useful, and took the revolver hanging limply from the corpses' hand, tucking it into the waistband of his pants.

"Daryl?" Lori called out nervously. He rolled his eyes and took one last look around the space, eyes lingering on the dead man before exiting the tent. Amanda relaxed her tense stance and handed him the crossbow once he was out.

"Ain't her." He said, avoiding looking at Carol.

"Well, what _was_ in there?" Andrea asked, taking a step forward, inquisitive of what the tent contained.

"Some guy. Blew his-" He paused and glanced at Carl, before returning his gaze back to the blond. "Opted out." She stopped, no longer curious of what was in the tent.

Daryl stood next to Amanda with his back to Carol, trying to block out the small whimpers escaping her. She stopped suddenly when church bells began chiming, echoing eerily through the silent forest. Everyone's heads whipped back and forth, trying to pinpoint what direction it was coming from. Rick took off running and everyone followed after him. It wasn't long before they came to the edge of the woods, looking at a quaint church set in the middle of a large, flat field.

"That can't be it, there's no steeple." Shane exclaimed, but Rick ignored him and started sprinting towards the church, trailing the group behind him as they ran after him. Rick, Shane and Daryl reached the church first and Rick wasted no time in kicking in the large wooden doors. The scene in front of them was haunting, as they ran into the building fully expecting to see Sophia; they were met instead by three walkers. They had been sitting silently in the pews as if they had been listening to a sermon, staring at the emaciated form of Jesus nailed to the cross. But once the doors crashed open, they stood, clumsily trying to find their ways toward the fresh food. Daryl once again handed Amanda his crossbow, but took her machete, and he, Rick and Shane stepped forward to dispose of the walkers.

"This ain't it man!" Shane yelled once the walkers lay limp on the floor. Rick was looking around desperately for the little girl. "There's no steeple, no be-"

He was cut off as the sound of chiming bells reverberated throughout the church. Daryl pushed past the group clustered by the door, with Amanda on his heels. They rounded the building, and looking up, their hearts fell; blaring from a loudspeaker was the chiming of church bells. Glenn rushed forward and ripped some wires from the small box underneath the speaker, cutting off the loud chiming.

"Timer." Daryl panted, trying to catch his breath. "It was on a timer."

"What did I say?" yelled Shane. "What did I say? This isn't it!"

"Shut. Up. Shane." Amanda said through gritted teeth. Shane spun around to retort back to her, but was cut off by Lori.

"This is not the time Shane. Just stop." She was rubbing Carol's back as the woman stared at the church. Shane shut his mouth and stared at the ground with a scowl. He backed away from Amanda, and Daryl loosened the tight grip he hadn't realized he had on the machete.

"I think I'm gonna go back in for a bit." Carol said after a few moments of silence.

Gradually everyone except Shane, Lori and Andrea walked back into the church. Daryl and Amanda sat in the farthest pew, in the corner, away from the others as they gathered in the front. Their bowed heads told Daryl that they were praying.

"Ain't like anybody's listenin'." Amanda mumbled quietly to Daryl, watching the others as well. "It's the end of the world, even if there was a god; he ain't listenin' to _us_." Daryl listened in silence. He knew this was the end of the world, at least as they knew it. Admitting the fact out loud, however, made it all too real. Here they sat, in a church, with other survivors around them, trying to survive the end of the world. It just didn't seem possible.

Daryl sat, contemplating his morality, lost in the gore and destruction that was their life. But he was brought out of his thoughts when Amanda's warm fingers intertwined with his. His first instinct was to pull his hand away, refrain from close contact, especially in front of the others, but as he felt the slight callousness of her fingertips tracing small circles over the palm of his hand, he ignored the impulse. He couldn't help himself, not anymore. Nearly twenty years of ignoring his want to touch her had broken down as soon as he had kissed her back in the CDC. He was intoxicated by everything about her. He wasn't about to jump her in front of the everybody, but there was nothing he was ashamed of. In fact, he felt somewhat honored to be the one holding her hand.

Again, Amanda pulled him from his thoughts with a slight tug on his hand. He glanced up from where he had been staring at the back of the pew in front of him and looked around them, everyone was headed outside and they were the only ones still sitting. He looked at her and let out a low chuckle, she was staring at him questioningly with one eyebrow raised, obviously wondering where his mind was. He just shook his head and grabbed the nape of her neck, pulling her in for a quick kiss before they stood and followed everyone out.

The group was gathered under a large peach tree to the side of the church. Daryl didn't miss the way Amanda's eyes brightened when she saw it. She waited until Rick and Shane finished explaining that they were staying behind for a little longer along with Carl, and slung her rifle over her shoulder. She deftly climbed the trunk of the tree and yelled down to Carl, instructing him to catch the plump Georgia peaches as she dropped them. Maneuvering through the branches, she got enough for everyone to have at least two, even Shane. Daryl smirked when he watched her shove extras into the pockets of her cargo pants. When she jumped back down she looked around at the faces warily watching her. Daryl could tell they weren't used to this side of her; the side he so often did see.

"When d'ya think is the next time we'll come across fresh fruit?" She asked when she saw the questioning looks she was receiving. She handed Daryl a peach and took a bite of her own and walked back towards the forest. He bit into his own and savored the sweetness as he began to follow after her, not bothering to look behind him to see if the group was following, he knew they would.

* * *

They were an hour into the hike back to the highway, searching the opposite side of the creek for any track or trace of Sophia. Again, there were none to be found. Daryl was about to ask Amanda to climb up into the trees to get a birds-eye view, when a single gun shot rang out. Daryl and Amanda looked at each other before looking back in the direction they knew Shane and Rick were. There were no more following shots and Daryl felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Something was wrong.


	13. Chapter 11

Daryl

The hike back to the highway was silent. Daryl and Amanda had failed to find any trace of Sophia. It had been a few hours since they had heard the gun shot and every once in a while, someone in the group would pause and look back. Lori's stares into the trees were the most longing. Daryl could understand; he had wanted to do the same as they had driven back to the camp from Atlanta, leaving Merle behind. Still the group kept on, making their way back.

"Andrea," Amanda said suddenly, breaking the silence. "If ya keep eyein' my gun like that, you ain't gonna like the view of it that ya get."

Andrea's steps faltered, surprised to have been caught, and Amanda turned to face her. Everyone paused to watch the two women. Andrea took a minute before replying, eyes flicking to Amanda's hand that rested on her hip, inches from the handle of the gun. Daryl bit at his thumbnail. He knew she wouldn't shoot her, but he didn't know what she would do if her temper got the best of her.

"I just don't see why we can't all carry guns." Andrea finally ground out, crossing her arms and planting her feet. Amanda laughed and took the gun out of its holster, holding it in the palm of her hand. Daryl was relieved to see that at least the safety was still on.

"First of all, it ain't just _a_ gun. It's my gun; a Beretta 92FS. Very first gun I ever owned. And second of all, I was _trained_, by Daryl, how to use it. Don't think that you have a right to use a gun jus' 'cause ya know it shoots things and makes loud noises" she finished, glaring at Andrea. The blond continued to stare at her, at an apparent loss for words.

"Fine." Amanda huffed, seeing her point hadn't been made. She turned her back to Andrea, facing Daryl and Glenn, and quickly disassembled the firearm. She turned back around with the fragments of metal in her hands; they clinked together as she extended her arms. "Put it back together and you can use it." Andrea kept staring, now at the puzzle pieces of the gun being shoved at her.

"That's what I thought." Amanda snipped when Andrea made no attempt to reach out for the pieces. Daryl couldn't help but smirk, it was the same tactic he had used when she had first bought it and was eager to start shooting. She reassembled the gun fluidly and suggested they move on.

"Do you mind if we take a break?" Carol asked quietly, sitting down on a fallen log. The rest followed suit and leaned back to catch their breath.

Daryl shouldered his crossbow and looked at the haggard group around him.

"_Merle was right, these people ain't gonna last."_ Daryl thought to himself, observing Carol's slumped shoulders. He looked from Lori who was peering back into the trees the way they had come, to Andrea where she sat next to Carol, fuming. Glenn stood off to the side, eyes darting between Amanda and Andrea every once in a while, as if he expected them to start arguing again. Finally he looked at Amanda where she was leaning against a tree, eating a peach. If there was anyone who was going to survive this, it was himself with Amanda at his side. The thought of abandoning the group resurfaced in his mind once again, but was banished when he thought about Sophia. Daryl had been given the task of finding the little girl, he wouldn't abandon her.

As always, Amanda seemed to sense that Daryl was looking at her. She turned her gaze away from the peach in her hand, to him. This time he didn't quickly look away to cover the fact that he had been staring, as he usually did. Instead he continued to admire her, noting how the leaves around them were making the green in her eyes stand out brighter. She grinned and bit her lip, looking to the ground while her face turned a light shade of pink. He felt himself smiling as he relished the fact that he was making her shy.

"You still worrying about it?" Andrea asked Lori as the latter once again stared back into the forest. Daryl dragged his gaze away from Amanda to look at Lori.

"It was a gunshot." she said plainly. "Why one? Why just one?" She peered into the trees, willing her husband, son and Shane to step out from behind one at any moment.

"Maybe they took down a walker." Daryl shrugged nonchalantly, but he knew the explanation was weak.

"Please don't patronize me." Lori spat. "Rick and Shane wouldn't waste a bullet for _one walker, _they'd do it quietly."

"Nothin' we can do about it now," Amanda said, throwing the peach pit to the ground.

"We can't run around chasin' echoes." Daryl finished the thought.

"So what's the plan?" asked Glenn.

Daryl rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Carol. "We keep beatin' the bush, lookin' for Sophia, and make our way back to the highway." Carol smiled at him, appreciating that he was keeping her daughter as the main priority.

"They'll meet up with us at the RV." Andrea told Lori, rubbing her arm in an attempt to console her. With a nod of her head Lori agreed and they resumed the walk back.

* * *

"How much farther?" Andrea groaned from the back of the group. A few hours had passed in silence and they were all covered in sweat as they strained to keep up with Daryl and Amanda, whose steps were more accustomed to navigating through the forest.

"'Bout a hundred yards, as the crow flies." Daryl replied. She groaned again after another minute of walking.

"Too bad we're not cro-"

Her words turned to screams and the group spun around. Andrea had fallen behind and as they looked back now, a walker was quickly advancing on her where she lay on the ground, desperately trying to back away. Glenn, Daryl and Amanda ran back to try to help the panicking woman. But before they could reach her, the muffled sound of hoof beats met Daryl's ears. He threw his arm in front of Amanda and pulled Glenn back by his shirt collar before either of them collided with the horse that had galloped out of the trees. The woman riding it swung a baseball bat at the walker, knocking it off of Andrea with a sickening crack, before her eyes scanned over the people staring in awe at her.

"Lori, Lori Grimes?" she asked quickly, eyes searching again over the faces.

"I-I'm Lori." Lori stuttered, just as taken aback as the rest.

"Rick sent me, you've got to come with me now!" she exclaimed once Lori stepped forward.

"What?" Lori asked, still dumbfounded by the sudden appearance of the woman.

"There's been an accident. Carl's been shot. He's still alive but you've gotta come with me now. Rick needs you." She explained.

As soon as the woman mentioned Rick, Lori was dropping her bag and beginning to climb onto the horse behind her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. We don't know this girl!" Daryl yelled. "You can't get on that horse!"

"Rick said you have others on the highway?" the woman asked, "Up at that big traffic snarl?"

"Uh-huh" Glenn replied.

"Backtrack to Fairburn Road, two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mailbox, the name's Greene." She turned the horse around when Lori was seated behind her and quickly galloped back into the trees.

For a moment they all stared after the horse, at a loss for words. The walker sat back up and Daryl snapped out of his stupor.

"Shut up." He spat, silencing its snarls with an arrow to the head.

Amanda offered Andrea a hand back up and they made the way back to the highway, which came into view within minutes. Dale was standing at the guardrail, rattling off questions faster than they could answer.

"Where's Lori and Carl and Rick? Where's Shane? I heard screams. Andrea was that you?" he berated.

"Dale." Amanda said, holding her hands in front of her, telling him to calm down. "Rick, Shane n' Carl stayed behind at a church we found, hopin' Sophia'd show up. Back there," she pointed back to the forest. "Some lady rode up and took Lori sayin' that Carl got shot." Dale rounded on Daryl.

"And you just let her?" Dale asked him.

"Hey, climb down outta my asshole old man. Rick sent her. She knew Rick's name, and Carl's." He spat back.

"What do you mean Carl was shot?" Dale asked Glenn, not caring to get his head torn off by Daryl. "And who was screaming?

"I don't know, we weren't there. And the screaming was Andrea, she had a pretty close call with a walker." Glenn said. Dale swung around to the blond who was headed for the RV.

"Andrea? Are you alright?" Andrea turned to look back at him and shook her head before stepping into the RV.

"Yea, she's gonna be wantin' that gun back soon Dale. She needs some trainin', but it _is_ her gun." Amanda said to the man once the door closed.

"I just worry about her. Since her sister-"

"It ain't up to you." Amanda interrupted, "If she wants ta kill herself, she'll find a way to do it with a gun or not."

"That lady took Lori to their farm, said it's back up the road." Glenn interrupted, trying to distract his bickering companions. "I think we should go."

"We can't just leave!" Carol cried, her face crumpling. "What if Sophia comes back?"

"Carol, the group is split. We're scattered and weak." Dale said, trying to reason with her.

"If she found her way back and we weren't here…" Amanda interjected.

"Alright, we gotta plan for this." Daryl said, thinking of a way to help the little girl but keep the group together. "I say tomorrow mornin' is soon enough to pull up stakes." Carol started to protest, but he cut her off. "We'll rig up a big sign n' leave her some supplies. I'll hold here tonight, stay with the RV."

"If the RV is staying, so am I." Dale stated.

"And if Daryl's stayin', I'm stayin'." Amanda added.

"Well, someone needs to go to this farm. T-dog is not doing well. He has a major blood infection." He motioned to T-dog, who was sitting under the awning of the RV, wrapped in a blanket despite the heat. "If he doesn't get some antibiotics in him… he'll die. No joke."

Daryl tensed and walked over to Merle's bike while Glenn heaved a sigh. "I'll take him. We'll take the Cherokee."

"Why'd you wait til now to say anything?" Daryl asked Dale, returning and dropping a Ziploc bag full of pill bottles on the hood of the Cherokee. "We got my brothers stash." He searched through the contents of the bag until he found what he was looking for. He took out two bottles. "Got some kick-ass painkillers," he tossed the first bottle to Glenn. "And Doxycycline." He handed the second bottle to Dale. "Not the cheap stuff neither. Merle tended to get the clap on occasion."

Amanda let out a giggle, probably remembering Merle scratching at himself mumbling about "dirty bitches". Dale went to give T-dog the antibiotics and help Glenn pack the car. Daryl grabbed Amanda's hand and pulled her back towards the minivan.

Once the hatch of the van was closed, Daryl wasted no time.

"Been waitin' for this all damn day." He growled.

She let out a small, startled yelp as he pushed her to the floor of the van. He ran his hands up her sides, squeezing lightly at the dip between her hips and ribs, and brushing over the sides of her breasts, until they rested on either side of her neck. Anchoring his thumbs under her chin, he angled her face up to his own and brought his lips down on hers. The sweet smell and taste of peaches still lingered on her as she kissed him back. He caught hold of her hands as they began to wander down his biceps and laced his fingers through hers, pinning them to the floor above her head. She let out a small moan and pushed her tongue past his lips, flicking it against his own. He shivered as she continued to explore his mouth, but froze when she pulled away and started tracing his jawline with her lips. His breath hitched when she came to the hollow under his ear and he had to sit up, pulling away before he could let himself go any farther.

He looked down and let out a groan. Her thighs were bookending his hips, unnoticed by either of them until now. Her shirt had ridden up and the smooth tanned skin of her stomach called to him, begging to be touched, and her chest rose and fell quickly. His eyes traveled from her lips, bright pink and swollen from his sucking and biting, to her flushed cheeks, and finally to her eyes. They were mystifying as he stared into them; her pupils were twice their usual size, swallowing their green centers, causing the blue to stand out vibrantly. They were full of lust, as he was sure his own were.

"Can I ask you somethin'?" she asked breathlessly. He reluctantly pulled himself from between her legs and moved back, allowing her to sit up.

"Depends." He said. She paused and bit her lip, thinking over what she wanted to ask.

"Why…. all of a sudden…are ya... so… I dunno the word for it, affectionate?" She asked, looking a little afraid of her own question. "When this happened," she motioned between the two of them "I didn't expect you to be so… open to it, I guess."

He chewed over his answer for a minute. "Remember Nick?" he finally asked. She scowled and shook her head yes. Nick had been her boyfriend when she was sixteen, and he turned out to be just like her father. One night when Daryl started getting worried because he hadn't heard from her in days, he decided to check on her and walked into her house just in time to see Nick slap Amanda across the face. Daryl had sent him to the hospital, nearly killing him.

"Ever since I saw you with _him_," he made a face as if just the thought of him left a bad taste in his mouth. "I knew that I wanted ya, n' I wanted to make sure ya got treated the way you deserve." He pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and traced her cheekbone with his fingertips, leaving her skin pink as she blushed. "Fourteen _years_, Amanda. I've wanted ya for fourteen _years. _It took the god damn end of the world for me t'do anything 'bout it. So I'm gonna make up for lost time. N' I'm not ashamed that I'm with ya. I'm proud."

"Jessica." She said after a few moments of silence, when he gave her a puzzled look, she sighed. "Jessica Dulaney. That bitch that lived down the road that used to hang on every word you said." She looked down at her feet as the red in her cheeks deepened. "I was always jealous of her." Daryl smirked.

"Jessica? Really? Damn, I never noticed." She punched him in the arm and he laughed.

"Come on," he said, gathering up their belongings that were strewn across the van. "All our man power is at that farm. We're sleepin' in the RV tonight." She groaned, thinking of the lack of space in the already cramped motorhome. He placed one last lingering kiss on her lips and opened the hatch.

* * *

**A/N: So I'm not really happy with this one. Please leave a review and let me know what you like, don't like, whatever.  
**


	14. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm sorry this took so long but I had a friend pass away on Monday, then another on Friday. I really just couldn't get myself into write anything until today. **

**So i made this one a bit longer since I made you wait for so long. **

**Also, some of you may have noticed, I do cut some stuff out, but it's really just cause I don't want this to be a carbon copy of the show.  
**

**I hope you like this one.**

* * *

Amanda

From the top of the RV I watched Daryl's broad shoulders grow smaller as he walked down the side of the highway in the dim light, Andrea's blonde head bobbing alongside of him.

I had offered to take watch with Dale while Daryl tried to get some sleep. I couldn't bear being in the mobile home with everyone else in there. The stuffiness and cramped quarters made it feel like I was being suffocated every time I stepped foot inside.

It was only been half an hour before Daryl nearly burst out of the door, crossbow strapped over his shoulder. He took a deep breath of the fresh air outside, and wiped the sheen of sweat off his brow.

Carol's quiet, muffled sobbing could be heard through the open hatch on the roof and no doubt was driving him insane while inside. He mumbled something about shining a light into the forest for Sophia, and Andrea quickly volunteered to accompany him. I chuckled to myself, thinking about the wary glance he had thrown my way before shrugging to Andrea and walking away.

Fifteen minutes of silence passed before Dale spoke up.

"Weather's nice." He said nonchalantly, looking up at the star-riddled sky.

"Mhmm." Was all I said in reply.

"You know, Andrea and I were thinking, the two of you don't seem to talk very much. I think that might be why she ran off with Daryl," I narrowed my eyes at him and he turned his gaze from the sky to me.

"To get to know him a little better!" He added quickly, raising his hands, trying to prove the innocence of the situation.

"We talk to each other plenty." I told him, "Never have much reason t'talk much to y'all." I averted my gaze back to the spot where Daryl and Andrea had entered the forest.

"Well, the way I see it," he said, smiling lightly, "We're all gonna be stuck together for a while, might as well get to know one another. I think the most I've talked with you about is how you learned to hunt. I've gotten to know Daryl a bit but I'd like to get to know you."

I looked at him finally, and realized that he wasn't going to drop the conversation anytime soon. He was smiling, waiting for me to tell him my life story.

I set my rifle on the roof beside me and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "What d'ya wanna know?"

"Where'd you grow up?" He inquired. I winced; my childhood wasn't something I wanted to share with the old man. I looked down at my feet, and decided that it couldn't hurt to tell him some basics.

Still staring at my boots, I mumbled, "'Bout thirty miles northeast of Jasper, Georgia."

"Really? I thought there wasn't much up that way." He remarked.

"There ain't. Just the Chattahoochee Forest. And mountains. We lived in the mountains." I looked back up at him. He didn't have the look of disgust that many others wore when they realized they were talking to a straight-out-of-the-woods, white trash, redneck. He looked intrigued, and I fidgeted under his stare.

"Now when you say 'we', do you mean Daryl and yourself?" he asked, looking a little excited to be getting more than three words at a time out of me.

"Kinda. Daryl an' Merle were my neighbors." My stomach twisted, thinking of the missing Dixon brother. Dale didn't miss the pained expression that must have crossed my face. I flinched when he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I know you were close with him." He murmured.

I shrugged his hand off and cleared my throat.

"No one's fault but his own. He can be a real pain in the ass sometimes" I looked back over to the older man and held his gaze, intent on making him as uncomfortable as I felt. "He ain't dead though. He's still out there. Survivin'."

It was Dale's turn to clear his throat.

"So, um, did you live with your parents?" He asked. The image of my father's face contorted in anger flashed through my mind. I winced again and stood up, no longer interested in continuing the conversation.

"What'd T do with those smokes he found?" I asked, avoiding the questioning look the old man was giving me. I slung the rifle over my shoulder as he pulled the pack out of his breast pocket. With a mumbled "thanks" I took them and climbed down the ladder.

Once on the ground, I didn't stop walking until the minivan that Daryl and I had slept in loomed in front of me. I climbed on top and turned my back to the RV, though I could still feel Dale's eyes burning into my back.

I sat on the roof of the van, my forearms propped on my knees. The smoke of the Marlboro burned my lungs, but I held it in until I no longer could, allowing the nicotine to flood my bloodstream. I heard the door to the RV open, followed by Carol's and Dale's voices, but still I stared at the spot Daryl had disappeared into. The image of my father's face kept running through my head no matter how hard I tried to focus on the cigarette in between my fingers. It seemed no matter where I went, or how hard I tried to forget him; I couldn't get away from the man.

When the cigarette was smoked down to the filter I tossed it away and realized that the RV was now empty. Jumping down from the van I walked back to the camper. Carol and Dale paused in their conversation when I approached, and they watched me make my way closer. With an aggravated sigh I pulled open the door and went to lie down on Daryl's sleeping bag. His smell enveloped me as I pulled the fabric over my head, and I quickly began to relax, marveling at how, even when he wasn't there, he was still able to calm me down. I listened to the muffled conversation that had resumed above me.

"Don't worry Dale," Carol was saying, "She's with Daryl. If something happens, he can protect her."

I pushed away the slight lick of jealousy that ran through me.

"Sorry, all I heard was 'if something happens'" Dale replied.

With that, I tuned out their chatter and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Rays of sunlight were peeking through the RV's windows when Daryl's heavy footsteps sounded through the camper, rousing me from my sleep. The sleeping bag was pulled back from my face and I squinted up into his steel blue eyes, where he was crouching down next to my head.

"We gotta go." he murmured, pushing a loose lock of hair out of my face.

"Ugh." I rubbed my eyes and stood up. Daryl was behind me as we exited the RV.

"Morning!" Dale chirped happily. He, Andrea and Carol were stuffing all of the supplies we had scavenged out of the cars into several duffel bags.

"Mornin'" I responded groggily, walking over to help them pack up the rest while Daryl set up the sign, along with some supplies that we were leaving behind for Sophia.

WDWDWD

Twenty minutes later, and the wreckage was disappearing behind us. The rumbling of the motorcycle vibrated through my body as we turned down Fairburn Road. I hopped off of the bike when we came to a large metal gate next to a quaint white mail box; the name "Greene" was hand-painted in deep green on the metal.

Opening the gate, I watched first Daryl on the motorcycle, then Andrea driving the green Hyundai that Shane had fixed up, and lastly Dale and Carol in the RV pass through and closed the gate behind us. I hopped back onto the bike behind Daryl, where he had stopped to wait for me and we continued down the long, dirt driveway.

As we rounded the last turn, I could see the faces of our group, intermixed with a few unfamiliar ones, watching as our small caravan approached.

When we got closer to the farmhouse Rick, Lori, an old man, and several others that I didn't know exited the house and walked down the porch steps.

"Well, how is he?" Dale asked quickly, once we had parked the vehicles and joined the group.

"He'll survive." Lori said with a tearful smile, "Thanks to Hershel and his people." She motioned to the new faces.

"And Shane." Rick added.

I glanced at the mentioned man. He had buzzed his hair and was wearing a pair of oversized denim over-all's. When Rick had acknowledged him, he looked at the ground and shuffled his feet. He seemed awfully uncomfortable when he was usually so cocky and willing to take his credit. It struck me as odd.

"Thank God." Breathed Carol, oblivious to Shane's strange demeanor.

Dale walked forward to embrace Rick, as Andrea and Carol did the same with Lori. Daryl and I stood back, watching the happy reunion. I noticed the brunette woman that had come out of the house, cast a wary glance in our direction when we didn't express the same excitement.

"We were worried." I mumbled to Rick, not wanting the woman to think I was a _completely_ heartless bitch.

Rick explained how Carl had been shot; in a simple hunting accident. As he talked, I started pulling the duffel bags out of the Hyundai, and Glenn was quick to help. I gave him a small appreciative smile. Recently, I had decided that out of the whole group, Daryl excluded, Glenn was my favorite. He never pried or seemed to judge, and was always friendly. He was also one of the only ones who ever said thank you when Daryl and I brought back any game.

Once we had unloaded the supplies Hershel told us that they were going to have a funeral for the man who had gone with Shane to the school to get supplies for Carl's surgery. Out of the corner of my eye, I again I noticed Shane's peculiar body language. Yes, the man –Otis- had died, but it didn't explain why Shane seemed so…guilty. It was too out of character for the man I had come to know.

* * *

We gathered around the small pile of rocks that had been set up as a memorial for Otis, and Hershel started reading from his well-worn copy of the bible. His family was dressed for the occasion while our group looked as haggard as ever.

I watched as the young blonde girl place a stone on the pile. The older blonde woman had a constant stream of tears running down her face; I was guessing that this man had been her husband. Daryl and I once again stood apart from the group, both of our arms crossed as we listened to the solemn service. My mind began to wander back to the last funeral I had attended. My mother's.

It wasn't until Shane began to explain how Otis had died that I was snapped out of my reverie. I listened to him recount how Otis had pushed him ahead, stating that he would cover him. How he had looked back to see Otis being torn apart. I glanced at Daryl, his eyes were narrowed as he watched Shane limp forward to place the last stone on the pile. I looked at the people around us; their heads were lowered and hands clasped in front of them. All except for Dale. His gaze caught mine when I looked at him; the expression on his face said the same thing I was thinking.

_"Shane killed Otis."_

* * *

After the service, the brunette woman –Maggie- brought out a county survey map and rolled it out on the hood of the Cherokee, which Daryl, Shane, Rick, Hershel and I stood around.

"This is good," said Rick, studying the map, "We can start getting this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams."

"Not you." Hershel interjected, "You gave three units of blood, you wouldn't last five minutes in this heat without passing out." I had to agree with him as I observed how pale Rick really was.

"And you," he pointed at Shane, "You push that ankle and you'll be laid up for a month." Shane gave a reluctant nod of his head.

"Guess it's just us." Daryl stated, looking to me, "We can head back to the creek, make our way back from there." He pointed to where we would be going on the map and I agreed with him.

"Tomorrow then," Rick said, looking somewhat defeated, "we start doing this right."

"We can't have our people out there with just knives. It's time we start teachin' 'em how to shoot like we promised." Shane said, placing his hands on his hips.

"I'd appreciate it if your people didn't carry guns on my property." Hershel proclaimed. I had to hold back a scoff. Even before the end of the world, I was rarely unarmed, it damn sure wasn't happening now.

I rolled my eyes as Rick agreed and placed his Python on the hood of the truck, followed by Shane. He reluctantly placed his pistol next to Rick's. When I could feel all eyes fall on me I clenched my jaw and looked up from the weapons.

"We're 'bout to go out there." I motioned to the woods, "I ain't goin' unarmed." Rick nodded his head in agreement. "I'll give 'em to someone t'hold onto when we get back."

It seemed to satiate Hershel for the time being, and I followed after Daryl when he strutted off to set up our tent. He deliberately placed it away from the others, under the shade of the largest oak tree on the property. Once everything was settled, we made our way towards the woods. As soon as the shade engulfed us, I let out a sigh.

"That bad?" Daryl asked with a laugh in his voice. He didn't need to look back to know that once we were within the haven of the forest, I felt better.

"It's not bad… it's jus'…" I paused, trying to pinpoint exactly what was troubling me, "Dale tried gettin' me to talk 'bout how we grew up last night, an' now they want us to hand over our guns." He chuckled in front of me.

"Andrea did the same thing. Told her 'bout the time I got lost in the woods when I was nine." He laughed. It was my turn to laugh.

"The time ya wiped your ass with poison oak?" I asked. He looked back now and smiled.

"Very same time." He grinned, "And don't worry 'bout the guns. I gotta spare ya can use, long as ya keep it hidden."

We walked on for another hour or so, throwing a jibe at the other here and there. But, mostly we just walked in a comfortable silence. It wasn't until the trees thinned out and we found ourselves in a large clearing, that the peaceful mood was broken.

In the middle of the clearing was a large white farm house. Shingles were falling off of the dilapidated roof, and most of it was in a state of disrepair. It was apparent that it had been abandoned or forgotten when the outbreak began.

Daryl pulled the crossbow off his back as I did the same with my rifle. We quietly made our way to the front door of the house. He made sure to step in front of me before kicking open the door. We were met with nothing but silence. We stalked into the small hallway and he motioned to me that we split up to clear the floor. I crept carefully into the living room on the left while he went into a small office room on the right. Once we had cleared all the rooms in the hallway, we inched into the large kitchen at the end. I lowered the gun when I was sure that this room was empty as well. I watched as Daryl picked something up out of the trashcan and sniffed at it. He looked at me as he poured the remains of a sardine can into the trashcan. The fact that there was still liquid in it suggested that it was fairly recent.

His eyes caught something and he raised his crossbow again. Slinking past me, he quickly pulled open the door of the pantry in the corner of the room. On the floor, was a small bed made of blankets and pillows. He looked back up to me.

"You don't think…" I started to question him.

"Yea, I do." He stated.

"But Daryl, this is a lot farther East than we been lookin'" I said.

"I know." Was his only reply.

He looked around the room; the disappointment of being so close to where the little girl had been was evident on his face. He left the kitchen and I could hear as he re-checked every room and went up the stairs to check the bedrooms above us.

I was leaning against the counter when he came back down.

"C'mon, gonna lose the light soon." He said, looking deflated. I followed him out of the house and he looked around the clearing.

"Sophia!" he yelled. There was no reply and he stared at his feet for a moment before walking down the stairs. We were heading back to the trees when he stopped at a bush and crouched down, looking at a white flower growing within it.

"A Cherokee Rose?" I asked, peering over his shoulder. He nodded, and I couldn't help the small smile that made its way across my face. I thought back to the time Daryl's uncle Jesse told us about the legend of the Cherokee Rose.

Daryl stood up and walked back into the house, only to reappear holding an empty beer bottle. He picked one of the flowers and put it in the bottle. When he turned back to me, I was smiling.

"What?" he asked.

"You goin' a soft on me?" I joked. He scoffed as he rolled his eyes and walked past me, grabbing my hand as he did, and pulling me with him back into the forest while I giggled.

WDWDWDWD

When we got back to the farm Daryl went to find Carol, while I decided to go find Glenn.

When I found him, he was sitting in a fold up chair by his tent, staring off at the cattle that were in the field next to the house.

"Hey." I said, pulling another chair up beside him. He jumped, unaware that I had been approaching.

"Y'alright?" I asked him warily as he sat back in the chair.

"Yea, just…" he gazed off at the farmhouse before shaking his head, "it's nothing."

I looked at the house before looking back at him.

"Maggie?" I asked. He looked around wildly to me.

"What?! No, no. I-" He gave up trying to deny it when I continued to look at him with my eyebrows raised. "How'd you know?"

"Please." I scoffed, "Every time she's around ya act like the only words y'know are 'hi', 'yeah' an' 'uh'. It's damn adorable if ya ask me." I teased. He let out a shaky laugh and looked back to the cattle.

"So, what happened?" I asked him. He glanced at me again, then the house, then to his hands, that were fidgeting in his lap.

"If I tell you, you can't tell anyone." He said to his lap.

"Glenn, I ain't gonna tell anyone nothin'" I assured him. He looked up at me.

"Maggie and I... had sex… when we were out on a run today." He muttered. I felt my mouth drop open.

"Alright Glenn! Didn't know y'had it in ya!" I exclaimed, clapping him on the back. He wore a sheepish grin but it quickly disappeared and his brow furrowed.

"But then, on the way back she said it was a one-time thing, and she hasn't talked to me since." He looked at me with frustration, "What do I do? I think I… like her… I don't know. Why are you women so difficult?" I raised an eyebrow and he backtracked, "I mean, most women. I-I… I just don't get it."

"Well, I dunno if ya noticed, but I ain't most women." I joked, trying to cheer him up.

"Yea, I noticed." He mumbled, staring back at his hands again.

When my joking tone didn't work, I put a hand on his shoulder. "Glenn, ya probably the first guy, other than her dad, she's seen in months. First guy she slept with in longer. Don't beat y'self up. Jus' give it some time." I noticed Daryl exit the camper, "Hell, I had t'wait a lot longer for _him_ t'come around." I tilted my head in Daryl's direction. Glenn laughed lightly.

"Yeah? How long was that?" he asked. I noticed that the question didn't make me squirm the way it would have if Dale had asked it.

"Twenty damn years." I laughed. A panicked expression crossed his face before he began to laugh with me.

"Hopefully, I don't have to wait that long." He said.

We sat in silence for another couple of minutes before I got up to find Hershel. I wasn't going to leave my guns in the hands of anyone else. When I found him, he was in the farmhouse kitchen, reading from his bible and drinking a cup of coffee. I knocked on the door frame lightly, suddenly nervous that he wouldn't want me in the house. When he looked up, I cautiously stepped into the room.

"Hey Hershel," I paused, waiting for him to tell me to get out. When he didn't, I continued, "Do y'mind if I start keepin' my guns in here? I don't really trust anyone else t'hold onto 'em." I held them up to show him. He studied me for a moment and I shuffled my feet uncomfortably. "I'll pick 'em up in the mornin' 'fore we head back out t'look for the girl."

"That should be fine. You can keep them in that cabinet there." He pointed to a tall cabinet at the end of the kitchen. I stored them in there, and turned around to head back outside. I paused before leaving the room and looked back at him.

"And… thank you." I said, quickly looking at the floor when his unwavering gaze made me nervous. "For lettin' us stay here. I can't speak for everyone, but Daryl an' I really appreciate it, at least." I turned away before he could reply and walked out the screen door.

* * *

The rest of the night passed by uneventfully. I was sitting atop the RV, taking my turn on watch. It had been dark for several hours before Dale came to relieve me. I handed him the one rifle we were allowed to hold onto and climbed down the ladder.

I nearly ran into Lori while walking towards the tent I shared with Daryl. She looked up at me and quickly wiped at her face, though I could see in the light coming from the house that her cheeks were wet. She walked past me without a word, and I turned to look at her retreating back.

"Y'alright?" I asked tentatively. It felt like I'd been asking that question a lot lately. She turned back and studied me for a moment before wordlessly nodding her head and resuming her walk back to the house.

When I climbed into our tent Daryl was cleaning off the bolts for his crossbow.

"Ya got that gun?" I asked him. He set down the bolt in his hand and reached into his bag. He pulled out a Colt Official Police and handed it to me. The six-shooter felt sub-par compared to my Beretta but I hid it under one of Daryl's sleeveless shirts, in case anyone decided to stick their head in. I laid down on the sleeping bag, intent on watching Daryl continue cleaning his equipment, but before I even noticed, I fell asleep.

* * *

The clanging of pots and pans woke me up and I looked around the tent. Daryl slept next to me, arm slung across my waist and face nuzzled into my neck.

"Daryl…" I purred into his ear.

His lips curled into a small smile and his eyes slowly opened. I pushed myself up and leaned on one elbow, looking down at him. He tightened his arm around me.

"C'mon, we gotta get up." I murmured.

He slid his hand up my back until it tangled in my hair, pulling my head down until our lips met. He traced my bottom lip with his tongue then pulled away, groaning.

"C-C'mon." I stuttered.

We both got up reluctantly and exited the tent. Daryl headed to the cluster of tents where Carol was handing out the oatmeal she made and I headed to the house to retrieve my guns. When I came back, guns in tow, everyone was once again gathered around the Cherokee, pouring over the map.

When he saw me approaching, Daryl took me to the side.

"They're splittin' up into groups. I figure, if you an' I split up, I go East an' you go West. We'd probably cover more ground than any of 'em." He told me, but I figured it was more of a question.

"Alright." I said, seeing the sense it made. The two of us searching different parts of the the forest would probably cover three or four times more than everyone else. He nodded his head and we joined the group.

The boy from Hershel's group, Jimmy, had joined us, asking if he could help in the search. Rick and Shane agreed but when he reached for the rifle that Dale had set on the hood of the car, they told him he would need to be trained first.

"Amanda an' I are gonna split up." Daryl stated, annoyed with the bickering. "She's gonna go West, I'll go East. Y'all can search North and South. I'm gonna borrow a horse, and head up to this ridge." He pointed to an overlook on the map. "Get a bird's eye view of the whole grid. If she's there, I'll spot her."

"Good idea," T-dog said with a smirk. "Maybe you'll see your chupacabra up there too."

"Chupacabra?" Rick asked while I tried to hide my laugh.

"Daryl saw a chupacabra once while he was out campin'. Turns out it was the one time he didn't take me." I told Rick while looking at Daryl. He turned a blind eye to my chuckling but when Jimmy started laughing, he rounded on him.

"What're you brayin' at, jackass?" he spat. Jimmy stopped laughing.

"What, you believe in a blood sucking dog?" he asked Daryl.

"You believe in dead people walkin' around?" He countered. He walked away towards the stables to saddle up his horse.

WDWDWDWD

For the umpteenth time Daryl was telling me to be careful as we walked by the house, his horse walking behind us. He was cut off as Rick called out to us. We turned to see him walking towards us. When he stopped in front of us, he placed his hands on his hips, and looked from me to Daryl and back again.

"You two sure you'll be okay on your own?" He asked.

"Better on our own." Daryl grumbled. I shook my head with a small smirk and looked at Rick.

"Rick we'll be fine, an' we'll be able t'cover more ground." I explained to him. He nodded his head.

"Just remember, we have a base now, you guys are off the hook. You don't owe us anything." He said calmly.

With that, Daryl turned away and led his horse towards the woods. I gave Rick a reassuring smile before walking after him.

"_You_ be careful." I said once I caught up to him.

I stood up on the balls of my feet and placed my lips over his. He put a hand around the back of my neck and held me there, lingering on the kiss. When he pulled away, he gave me a nod and mounted the horse. I watched him ride into the trees before turning around in the opposite direction and walking into the woods heading west.

* * *

It had been hours since I left the farm.

I had come across no trace, or even a hint that Sophia had been in this part of the woods. Later in the afternoon I came across a few small and empty houses and hunting shacks, but still found nothing.

The sun was three quarters of the way across the sky and I decided it was time to head back.

I walked towards the farm for half an hour before a whinny reached my ears. I tensed as my heart pumped wildly and I crouched into the coverage provided by the brush around me, readying my pistol. I listened intently and started following the sounds of the horse. When I saw it through the leaves I froze.

Standing in the small clearing in front of me, was the horse Daryl had been riding.

I looked around I saw not Daryl, but a woman with her back to me. She was quietly talking to the horse trying to soothe it.

I crept forward silently until I was behind her in the middle of the clearing. I aimed the gun at the back of her head, and looked around one more time to make sure Daryl was nowhere to be seen.

"Who the _fuck_ are you? And where the _fuck_ did you get that horse?" I hissed.

The woman froze before slowly turning to face me. My heart jumped into my throat and I nearly dropped the gun in my hands. My mind replayed the conversation Daryl and I had had two day before, because standing in front of me, was none other than Jessica Dulaney.

"Amanda?" She asked slowly.

* * *

**Little bit of a cliff hanger. Please let me know what you guys think. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	15. Chapter 13

**A/N: I'm ahead of schedule! I'm likin this one, so please tell me how you feel about it. **

**smurfflynn:** **I'm sorry i didn't mention you in the last chapter, thanks for the comment. It was kinda a filler chapter, but i appreciate the compliment.** :)

**Alliekat21: I hope you like this one. It'll be a few chapters before jessica really becomes a problem, but just you wait. :)**

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Amanda

I stared at the woman standing in front of me.

Other than the grime covering her, she looked the same as she had when we were younger. Her long blonde hair was tied in an artfully messy knot at the base of her skull. Her long legs were clad in denim, splotched with blood and dirt. She wore a t-shirt that had, at one time, been tight-fitting and designer. Now it was loose around her model-like frame, covered in grit. Yet I couldn't help but notice that she still had an impressive amount of cleavage showing.

She stared back at me with wide, green eyes under long, thick eyelashes.

She was everything I hated.

"Amanda Britin? Is that you?" She asked again.

I clenched my jaw as she said my last name. Though no one in our group would know it, or the bad reputation it held, the name was part of my father, and I wanted nothing to do with it.

He had been well known in the small town we lived near, for being an absolute piece of shit. The term "Hide the whiskey, Britin's comin'" was never an uncommon thing to hear. And once I had gotten old enough the stigma was passed on to me, though I tried my best to stay out of his shadow. The worst I ever did was start bar fights with Daryl.

"Jessica," I said through gritted teeth, "Where's D- where's the man that was ridin' that horse?" I had to think twice about letting her know it had been Daryl riding it. I bitterly thought of how infatuated she had been with him.

"I don't know!" she said with a smile, "It came trotting in from that way. There wasn't anybody riding it." She pointed north. I looked to where she pointed and calculated that if something had happened to Daryl, and the horse had time to completely circumnavigate the whole farm, it must have happened hours ago. I looked back to the annoyingly chipper woman.

"Are you alone?" I asked her, hoping she would say no, so I would be able to leave her and keep a clear conscience. That hope was lost when she looked at the ground and a tear fell down her cheek. I held back the aggravated sigh that threatened to burst from my mouth.

"Yes." She whimpered. "Oh Amanda, it was terrible-"

I cut her off before she could tell me her pitiful story.

"I gotta find out what happened to the rider. And I can't leave ya out here by yerself. I gotta group, on a farm a couple'a miles that way." I pointed in the direction of the farm. "Ya wanna come with me or not?"

She gave me a wide tearful smile and nodded her head quickly, though I was hoping she wouldn't. I walked forward and took hold of the reigns. I checked the horse over, letting out a sigh of relief when I saw no blood, from the horse, or from Daryl. I clucked my tongue and the horse obediently fell into step beside me. I didn't turn around to see if Jessica was following, her heavy steps and the sound of snapping twigs told me that she was.

It took longer to get back than it would have if I was alone. Not only was I leading a horse along with me, but Jessica had to stop and complain or rest when I got too far ahead of her. Every minute that passed, the solid rock of anxiety that hung in my stomach grew heavier.

Along the way she told me how her boyfriend, Andrew, had gotten her out of Atlanta, where they had been living in a penthouse apartment together. He'd been with her the whole time as they joined and left other groups of survivors, but about two week ago, he had gotten bit. He knew that she wouldn't be able to put him down, so he simply walked away into the woods to die. She had been surviving off of the food he left in his pack, and had just run out the day before.

I didn't need to ask her any questions -not that I wanted to- or answer any of hers. She just kept babbling away, scaring away any wildlife within a half mile radius of us.

When the trees thinned out I took a sweeping glance at the house, pointing towards it.

"That's the house, I'm gonna put the horse in the stable. Go look for a guy named Rick an-"

Dale's voice rang out and cut me off.

"Andrea, don't!"

My head spun around at the urgency in his voice. I saw Andrea lying on the roof of the RV, eye to the scope of her rifle which was aimed toward the east side of the property. My eyes trailed across the field to where she was aiming. Rick, Glenn, T-dog and Shane stood in front of another figure that was partially blocked to me by Glenn's back. Rick was pointing his pistol at it.

I started walking in the direction of Dale, still watching the men, when Glenn moved, and I froze. Even from this distance I knew that stance and build anywhere. It was Daryl. They were all pointing their guns at Daryl. I started to run towards them, dragging the horse behind me. I watched Rick lower the gun with a huff of relief.

"What are yo-"

My yell was cut off as the gun in Andrea's hands fired and I watched Daryl fall to the ground. There was a loud ringing in my ears that grew louder until I couldn't hear anything else. I realized it was me, I was screaming.

I roughly pushed Jessica away from the horse and mounted it hastily. With a hard kick in the side, I urged it into a gallop across the field. I was going faster than I possibly could have gone on foot but still it wasn't fast enough.

When I reached them, I didn't take the time to stop the horse. I jumped off mid-gallop, and ignoring the hard impact as I hit the ground, ran to Daryl. Rick and Shane were pulling his arms over their shoulders when I reached them. I cupped his face in my hands, noticing the dirt and unsettling amount of blood that covered him from head to foot. I looked at Rick through a salty blur of tears.

"Is he…" I asked, my voice trembling.

"No," he said, understanding my inquiry, "he's unconscious. She just grazed him."

I looked back at the battered man, unwilling to believe that this was the same tough-as-nails Daryl that I knew. Hurried footsteps approached behind me and I heard Andrea's voice. I spun and watched her and Dale get closer.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Is he dead?" She wailed.

"**You bitch!**" I bellowed.

I launched myself at her, catching her by surprise, and knocked her to the ground. I started throwing punch after enraged punch but couldn't see where they landed through the furious tears in my eyes.

I felt arms wrap across my chest and stomach and pull me off of the woman I was intending to kill. I fought back against them, not caring who it was.

"T-dog, help me!" Glenn groaned as I elbowed him hard in the ribcage. I vaguely saw T-dog take Glenn's place as the latter took hold of my wrists; my vision was tunneled in on the woman who had shot Daryl.

"**Why the fuck did she have a gun?! She hasn't even been fucking trained!" **My head whipped around to glare at Rick and Shane, then to Daryl's limp form, hung between the two men, then back to the blonde who lay, shocked and unable to move in front of me. "**I'll fucking kill you!**"

T-dog was able to hold on in my renewed attempt to lunge at Andrea. Eventually, I wore out and weak sobs tore their way up my throat. It was raw from all of my screaming.

"What the hell happened?" Glenn asked, exasperated. He let go of my wrists and pointed at Daryl. "Look at him. He's wearing ears!"

I turned to look where he was pointing. Around Daryl's neck was a shoe lace, and hanging from it were two pairs of ears. An involuntary giggle bubbled from my mouth.

"He was always one for theatrics." I said, wincing as the words stung my throat.

Rick pulled the string from his neck and handed it to me. T-dog let go of his firm hold on me and I stuffed the gory necklace into my pocket.

"Let's keep that to ourselves." Rick said quietly, eying Hershel. He had come running out of the house with Lori and the others when Andrea fired the gun.

"What in the hell is going on out here?" Hershel demanded. I answered before Rick could.

"Ask her." I spat, pointing to Andrea as T-dog helped her up.

Hershel seemed too shocked by the state of Daryl to want to question her. He began ushering us into the house.

"Hey guys," T-dog called out behind us. We turned to look at him, he was holding up a small, familiar-looking doll. "Isn't this Sophia's?"

All eyes found their way to the bloody, unconscious mess of a man hanging between Shane and Rick.

"And uh….. Who is that?" Glenn asked, pointing to the other blonde. The one I had completely forgotten about. She was standing separate from everyone else, and her eyes were transfixed on Daryl, I didn't like the hungry look in her eyes.

"That's Jessica." I croaked, purposely placing myself between Jessica and Daryl. "I know her. And we don't have time for this." I exclaimed, motioning to Daryl.

Rick and Shane pulled Daryl through the open screen door and into the bedroom that Carl had stayed in when he was shot. I closed the door when I saw Jessica following after us.

When Daryl was lying motionless on the bed, Hershel handed me a small towel and a bottle of water.

"Amanda, I need you to start wiping away all this extra blood and dirt. I can't tell where his injuries are." I started immediately, dousing the towel and wiping the filth off of his handsome face. "Rick, I need you to stay here. Shane you can go."

Shane made his departure, and Rick sat on the edge of the wooden chair in the corner of the room, waiting for Hershel's next command.

It didn't come until Hershel cut Daryl's shirt with a pair of scissors. He started to take it off and his hand brushed against Daryl's side. His blue eyes flew open and he started fighting against the old man.

"Rick!" Hershel called.

Rick rushed forward and held Daryl's arms by his side while I watched Hershel cut the rest of the shirt off. Underneath the dirty fabric, among the scars that riddled his body, was a hole in Daryl's flesh, about a half inch in diameter. I took a closer look and had to swallow the bile that rose in my throat, I could see straight through it to the white sheet of the bed underneath him.

Daryl started bucking wildly when Hershel poured alcohol on the wound, his eyes darted around the room frantically and he let out a pained sound that tore at my heart. Rick kept a hold on his arms and added his extra weight to keep his legs down. I clasped Daryl's face between my hands and looked into his electric blue eyes. He didn't seem to notice that I was in the room until that moment. His desperate attempts to get away calmed and he stared up at me, chest heaving. I felt something warm pool in my stomach.

"Hey, hey, hey." I said quietly, barely above a whisper, "You're okay. I'm here." I glanced at Hershel; he was taking a needle and medicinal thread out of the medical bag that he had left in the room when Carl was the last occupant. I hid a wince and looked back at Daryl.

"This is gonna hurt, like a bitch." I said.

He turned his head to see what Hershel was doing but I kept it in place.

"Hey." I said sharply, making him look back into my eyes again, "You're a Dixon."

It was all I needed to say, he swallowed thickly and nodded his head and I told Rick he could let go, which he did warily, and at some point he quietly left the room.

I kept a gentle hold on Daryl's face while Hershel cleaned and stitched up the puncture in his side, trying and failing to hold back my winces that mirrored his. I had to let go when he moved to the torn flesh on his scalp. But Daryl's eyes never left my face and I felt his warm hand wrap around mine. When his eyes drifted shut I looked up at Hershel, my panic rising, making my throat tighten painfully. He let out a low chuckle.

"He's asleep. Probably exhausted. Who knows what he went through out there." He said gently. "You should probably eat something, or at least wash up."

I looked down at my hands, he was right. I was covered in Daryl's blood, and the dirt covering him had worn off onto me.

"Would you mind…" I looked up at the old man, once again feeling the small waves of nervousness, "if I took a shower?"

"Not at all." He stated, nonplussed, "There's clean towels in the linen closet."

I nodded and started towards the door. I turned around and looked at Hershel.

"Thank you. Again. I dunno what I'd do if I lost him." I looked at Daryl, asleep on the bed and felt a small smile curl on my lips.

"Young lady, I'm only doing as God would want me to. To help my fellow man." He said, mirroring my smile.

I nodded my head and exited the room. I left the house and headed to our tent to grab some of the few clothes that I had. No one tried to talk to me as I went to the tent or made my way back and I was grateful. Though I could feel their eyes on me, observing my blood soaked arms and dirty clothes.

I stood in the stream of hot water for a long time, letting it cascade over me. Once the dirt and blood was gone, I simply stood under the scalding water, mind blank, tracing my fingers over the nearly-healed gash on my forearm. Daryl's careful stitching would need to come out soon.

Once my skin was bright red from the heat of the water, I got out of the shower and got dressed. I stepped out of the screen door and almost walked right over Dale. He was sitting next to Andrea. Immediately, the calm atmosphere disappeared. Dale stood up, trying to avoid any conflict.

"How is he?" he asked, standing between the blonde and me.

"He'll be okay." I said, "He's exhausted."

I side-stepped him and walked down the steps but not before throwing a threatening glare towards Andrea. I was pleased to see that she was forming a black eye.

I put my filthy clothes in the corner of our tent and looked towards the camper. Glenn was sitting on top of it. I clenched my jaw and walked over.

When I climbed to the roof and pulled a chair up next to Glenn's he quickly looked at me before looking away. We sat in silence for maybe fifteen minutes before I got my nerve up to say anything.

"Sorry 'bout hittin' ya." I said, staring at my boots. "An' kickin'… an' scratchin'." I looked at his arm; there were four dark gouges where I had torn his skin away with my nails, desperate to attack Andrea. He turned to me with a lopsided grin.

"I've never seen a woman that takes two men to hold her back." He laughed.

"You should see me when I'm drunk." I chuckled, happy that he wasn't mad at me.

"I have. Kind of." He countered.

"Oh yeah." I said, remembering the night at the CDC. "That was nothin'. Daryl and I used to team up an' get in bar fights almost every night."

I watched him picture it in his mind, and then shake his head.

"Glad I never went to the same bars as you guys." He laughed. I couldn't help but join him.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a while before he said anything.

"They're making dinner in the kitchen tonight. And now that Jessica's here-"

I let out a groan at the mention of her. I had once again completely forgotten about her.

"You don't like her." He stated, it wasn't a question, more of an observation.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked, pulling out the pack of cigarettes I hadn't given back to Dale.

There were three left, I picked two out and offered one to Glenn, the last one I would save for Daryl. He paused in the conversation as I lit it for him. He took a long drag and I stared at him with raised eyebrows.

"I haven't had a cigarette in three years." He held it up, "So why don't you like her?"

It was my turn to pause. I lit mine and took an equally long drag; I exhaled the smoke through my nose and looked at him. Glenn was the first person I've met, that I could have a conversation with about being a girl and not get made fun of for it. I decided, we'd already talked about him and Maggie having sex, what would this hurt?

"She has a thing for Daryl. Always has." I glanced at him quickly and felt my cheeks heat up. "She grew up in the same town as us. And… I'm not really any… competition to her…"

"You're kidding right?" he asked. When I said nothing he continued, "She's not going to come between you and Daryl."

"Glenn, she's _literally_ a model." I exclaimed.

"That's not what I mean." He said, "Amanda, Daryl loves you. Everyone can see it. And you're definitely competition to her… but don't tell Daryl I said that."

I sat back, speechless. Finishing my cigarette, I stood up to climb down the ladder.

"Just wait, she'll do whatever she can to embarrass me. _Especially_ in front of Daryl." I told him, furrowing my brow.

"It won't matter." Glenn reassured me.

I walked back to Daryl's room, waiting for dinner. I sat in the wooden chair and watched him sleep, wondering if it really was possible that this man loved me.

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**Please let me know what you thought! please review!**


	16. Chapter 14

**A/N: Here's the next chapter!**

**Alliekat21-That's exactly what i was aiming for! The kind you just want to punch in the face. I Hope you like this one! Thanks for reviewing!  
**

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Daryl

The soft click of the door closing awakened Daryl. He opened his eyes and looked towards the sound. Glenn was standing awkwardly next to the door.

"Hey, uh… Dinner's gonna be ready soon. Amanda asked me to see if you wanted any." He said, taking a few cautious steps farther into the room.

Daryl looked around the room. He could scarcely remember Amanda being in there with him, but when he looked to the window and saw that it was dark outside, he realized that had been hours ago. His stomach growled.

"Yeah… yeah." he grumbled. "Where uh... where is she?" He asked the younger man.

"She's out on watch." Glenn said, turning towards the door. "I'll let Carol know."

As he turned to open the door, the light caught his arm and Daryl noticed four deep cuts in his skin, they looked fresh.

"Somethin' happen?" he asked, thinking that while he was asleep walkers had attacked or god knows what else.

Glenn turned around with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Daryl pointed to the cuts, and understanding dawned on him.

"No. Uh… Amanda..." He looked down at his shoes then back up at Daryl, "Amanda kinda… lost it when you got shot."

"What d'ya mean?" Daryl asked quickly, sitting up in the bed. However, the sharp pain in his side kept him from getting up.

"She attacked Andrea; almost beat the hell out of her." He said with a small, almost proud grin, "I had the bad luck of being the one to pull her off."

"I been there." Daryl said, letting out a small laugh and wincing when his wound protested. "Surprised that's all she did t'ya."

"Oh no, she got me pretty good." Glenn said, laughing as well.

He pulled up the side of his shirt and showed Daryl a dark purple bruise blooming over his rib cage. Daryl smiled and felt pride bubble in his chest.

Damn, his woman knew how to throw a punch.

"Can I ask you… what happened out there?" Glenn asked carefully.

"Damn horse threw me, an' I fell down a cliff. Arrow got me on the way down, woke up and a walker was chewin' on my boot." Daryl said shortly. He didn't want Glenn's pity.

Glenn nodded, repeated that he would let Carol know that he was hungry and left the room. It wasn't long before Rick came into the room, followed by Hershel and Shane.

There had been an unspoken "truce" between Daryl and Shane, mostly because the latter didn't speak to him or Amanda.

"How are you feeling?" Rick asked the bed-ridden man.

"Like I got shot." Daryl retorted.

Hershel started checking the stitches in his side and Rick unrolled the map of the land surrounding the farm.

"Can you show us where you found the doll?" He asked, sliding the map over to Daryl. There was a gleam of renewed hope in his eyes.

"Found it washed up on the creek bed right there," Daryl pointed to the spot on the map, "she must'a dropped it while crossin' there somewhere."

"Cuts the grid almost in half." Rick said excitedly.

"Yeah, you're welcome." Daryl spat, jumping when Hershel prodded at the wound.

"How's he looking?" Rick asked the old man. Hershel shook his head and looked up at Rick.

"He'll live. It's a wonder you people have survived this long. And you," he turned to Daryl, "the horse you took is named Nelly, as in Nervous Nelly. Could've told you she would throw you if you'd bothered to ask. Imagine my surprise when I open the door and Amanda goes galloping by on her."

"What?" Daryl asked.

"Amanda came outta the woods just before you got shot, found the horse and some girl out there." Shane said, keeping his eyes on the wall across the room.

After some small talk Daryl lost interest in Rick's new search plans and sat back, waiting for the others to stop chattering. They finally left the room and he laid back down to stare at the wall, hoping no one else would bother him.

But it wasn't long before Carol entered the room, carrying a tray of food. She didn't knock and Daryl hastily pulled the sheets up to hide the marred skin on his back and torso.

"Hey," she said meekly, "How ya feeling?"

"'Bout as good as I look." Daryl grumbled. She ignored his surly attitude and placed the tray on the bedside table.

"Brought you some dinner, figured you'd be starving." She said, motioning to the food.

He looked at the tray, nodded his head and turned back around. The door opened and he thought she was gone, until she said something.

"You should know something. You did more for my little girl today, than her own daddy did in her entire life."

"Nothin' Rick or Shane wouldn't've done." He said sourly.

"I know." She agreed, "You're every bit as good as them."

He listened to her leave the room and sat up. He pulled the tray onto his lap, and quickly devoured the food on the plate. When he was done he stayed sitting, knowing that Amanda would come back when her watch was over.

While he waited, Carol's words replayed through his head.

"_You're every bit as good as them_."

He scoffed to himself. Yea, he'd done more than her father, but she was still out there, missing. He still hadn't been able to bring her back.

Then again, Rick and Shane had been out searching for her too. And he didn't see them staggering onto the farm, with an arrow through the side and a bullet to the head, hallucinating due to the amount of blood they lost.

He shivered, remembering the things the hallucination of Merle had said:

_Merle was crouched over Daryl while he laid in the dirt, struggling to keep hold of his consciousness. After chastising the way he had bound the arrow in his side, he started berating him._

"_You Rick's bitch now? Y'all best girlfriends?" he sneered, "Bullshit. You're nothin' but a freak t'them, redneck trash. That's all ya are. Y'know they're laughin' at ya behind ya back. One of these days they gonna scrape you off their heels like you was dog shit."_

_"You're wrong, bro." Daryl said weakly._

_"Nah, I ain't baby brother. An' you know it." Merle laughed. "You an' sweet little Amanda'll be out on your backwoods asses soon enough."_

_"Leave 'er outta it." Daryl grunted._

_"Ah Darylina," he sighed. "You know it's too good to be true. Ya even fuck her yet? How long you think a hot piece'a ass like that, is gonna stick round with the likes'a you? Ya pine after her for damn near half ya life, and when ya actually get 'er, ya too pussy to make a move."_

The door opened and Daryl jumped, hurriedly pulling the sheet up. Amanda walked in and quietly closed the door. She turned around stopped mid-step, seeing him sitting up in the bed, awake. Daryl stared back at her, trying to push Merle's words out of his thoughts.

She strode over to the bed wordlessly, and sat down next to him, gently pulling the sheet away. Daryl's breath hitched as her fingertips traced the scars that covered the planes of his chest. She looked up at him through her lashes.

"I seen 'em before Daryl." She said quietly, "You don't gotta hide 'em from me." He caught a lock of her hair between his fingers and played with it for a moment.

"I know." He murmured.

He looked up into her deep blue eyes and moved his fingers to her jaw line, tracing it until his fingers wove through the hair behind her ear. Cupping his hand around the back of her head, he pulled her forward. She placed her hand on the mattress next to him, careful to avoid his wounded side.

When her lips met his, he let out a sigh, and Merle's taunts dissipated from his mind as their lips moved against each other. Amanda kept one hand on his chest and he felt her fingers curl, nails slightly biting at his skin. He parted his lips and goose bumps ran up his arms as her soft, warm tongue ventured in. She lightly ran it across his and pushed herself closer, hovering just above him. Her hands moved up to his face and cradled it like that had earlier in the day, he pushed his tongue into her mouth and sat up to meet her body with his. The stitches in his side pulled and he drew in a hiss through his teeth, his hand flying to the throbbing pain.

Amanda sat back quickly with wide, worried eyes. He shook his head at her to tell her he was fine and took a deep breath.

The door burst open and a tall blonde figure bounded into the room, throwing itself onto Daryl and embracing him. He let out a startled yell of pain as a knee rammed into his side.

Amanda was off the bed in seconds, roughly pushing the blonde away from him.

"He has stitches you idiot!" She snarled.

"Oh Daryl, I'm so sorry! I didn't know!" Chirped a high voice.

Daryl stiffened at the familiarity of the voice, and looked up from his stinging abdomen.

Amanda stood next to the bed between him and the blonde, her hands were on her hips as she rested her weight on one leg, and she scowled at the ground, breathing heavily in anger.

"Found somethin' in the woods." She ground out, not taking her eyes away from the floorboards.

She took a step sideways and Daryl felt his jaw drop.

"Jessica?" he asked incredulously, looking back to Amanda, who still glared at the floor.

Her jaw clenched when he said her name, and he remembered what she had said a few days ago about this very same woman. She had been jealous of her; it explained why she was seething. He looked back to the blonde.

"Uh…" He said, completely at a loss for words.

"Amanda found me in the woods! I guess she just couldn't resist bringing me back!" the perky woman piped.

Amanda squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. Daryl had no doubt that all she had wanted to do was leave her out there. He watched Amanda sit back down on the foot of the bed, farther away than he preferred. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her legs, one of which was bouncing rapidly as she tried to control her temper.

"Yea, guess not." Daryl said to Jessica.

"Well, how have you been?" She asked, "You're looking a lot scruffier than I remember." Her giggle grated on his nerves and he remembered why he had always left her with Merle whenever she hung around.

"Haven't really had the time." He said plainly, already feeling the beginnings of a headache, "I need t'talk to Amanda."

Jessica smiled widely and nodded her head.

"Just let me know if you need anything, she can't keep you to herself _all_ the time."

Amanda looked up at the woman menacingly and Daryl was sure he could hear a growl emanating from her throat. Jessica left the room with one last smile and Daryl let out a sigh. He looked at Amanda where she sat motionless at the end of the bed.

"Hey," he said softly.

She tore her gaze from the floor and slowly looked up to him.

"C'mere." He said, moving over in the bed and motioning to the space next to him.

She crawled up the bed and curled into his uninjured side, resting her head in the hollow under his shoulder. He folded his arm around her and started playing with her hair.

"I couldn't leave 'er out there." She mumbled.

Daryl didn't say anything, just kept playing with her silky brown hair. He knew she wouldn't have been able to leave her out there. Her conscience wouldn't allow it, although she clearly regretted bringing her to the farm.

Eventually they both fell asleep, her legs tangled around his and his arm folded around her, holding her close to him.

It was hours later when Daryl stirred in his sleep. He awoke with a start, staring at the dark ceiling above him. He tried to blink away the image from his dream of Amanda lying naked in front of him, limbs artfully jumbled as she stretched across the bed, but it was burned into his retinas. He rubbed at his eyes and realized his palms were sweaty. He looked over at her sleeping next to him. She had curved her back into his chest and in the moonlight shining through the window he could see her eyelids moving as she dreamed.

"_Ya too pussy to make a move_." Merle's southern drawl rang in his mind.

Without giving himself a second to think about it, Daryl leaned forward and place a kiss on her exposed throat. He slowly worked his way down, and bit down lightly on her collarbone. A quiet moan escaped her and he froze. She rolled over so she was now facing him, but her eyelids stayed closed and her breathing stayed deep and even. He did the same with the other side of her neck that now was open to him and slowly slid his hand down her taut stomach. He paused, only for a moment, and gently slid his finger under the waistband of her jeans.

Her eyes flew open and looked up at him, glinting in the moon light. He watched her lips curl into a mischievous smile and her own hands reached down to the button of her pants. She clumsily undid the button and zipper and started to pull them down over her hips. He caught her wrists and shook his head, she narrowed her eyes at him but when he captured her lips with his own they fluttered closed.

She let out a small whimper when his fingers ventured into the warm wet folds of her desire. He brushed over the tight bundle of nerves and she twitched. He silenced her by parting his lips and letting his own tongue dance over hers as her hips bucked into his hand.

He slid a finger into her and she gasped. He felt himself grow hard; she was tighter than he thought she would be. He slid in another finger and bit back a moan.

He pushed farther into her and moved his fingers rapidly, relishing how she bit down on her knuckle, trying to stay quiet.

It wasn't long before he felt her walls flutter around his digits and she traded her knuckle for his neck, letting out a low guttural moan, and shuttering as the orgasm tore through her body. He shivered as her teeth bit into his skin and withdrew his hand. He didn't break her gaze as he brought his hand up to his mouth and cleaned her wetness off of his fingers. God, she tasted sweet. He leaned in to kiss her, letting her taste herself and laid back. She began to straddle him but he held her back.

"Can't do any heavy liftin'." He smirked.

She clapped her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing too loud, and laid back down. Her shoulders were still shaking in silent laughter when she rested her head back in the hollow of his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head and tightened his hold on her. The both of them fell asleep soon after.

* * *

**I thought a little bit of smut would spice things up a bit :) Let me know what you think. PLEASE REVIEW!**


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